Linc 10: Bearer Of The Omnitrix
by TvFan2244
Summary: When Lincoln found the Omnitrix, a device that allows him to transform into several alien superheroes, his world just got a whole lot bigger. But he wasn't prepared by the many threats either from Earth or space, so he must learn how to properly use it if he is to save his world.
1. Chapter 1

**And Then There Was Lincoln**

 **Disclaimer: I wrote this because I always wonder how writing an xover of the Loud House and Ben 10 would be like, since there's only one story like this in English, so here it is. Also The Loud House and all characters associated with it belongs to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino and everything Ben 10 related belongs to CN and Man of Action. Now I'll using the elements from the classic Ben 10 shows, sorry to those who like the reboot, but I grew up with Ben 10 since the first series and I'm also not a fan of Cartoon Network's reboots of some of its greatest shows. No offense to the fans of the reboots, but some of them are just plain awful. I'm looking at you Teen Titans Go. If anything, they should have done what Samurai Jack did and get revived instead of rebooted.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to Fave, Follow, and leave Reviews.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Outskirts Of Royal Woods_

In the forest area of the quaint town of Royal Woods, it was the middle of the night all was quiet there wasn't a single sound. In the side of a road, a squirrel was scurrying to it's home, then an acorn caught his eyed and went after it, however it failed to notice a light that was closing in, it picked up the acorn but then saw the light, the source of the light came from a vehicle that passed by, luckily it went under the squirrel, sighing in relief, it help its fist and shaked it at the vehicle. The vehicle in question was a blue and white family wagon. Inside the driver was a middle aged man with brown hair; next to him was a woman the same age with blonde hair.

"Look at it honey, the pure night sky perfect for a family camping trip, right?" he asked his wife.

"It certainly is dear." the blonde woman responded. "Oh kids, aren't you all so excited?" asked to the rest of the passengers. In the back were 11 children. 5 of them were teenagers, 2 were pre-teens, 3 were toddlers, and 1 was a baby, 10 of them were mostly female, while only one of them was a boy, he was 11 years old who had white hair,had an orange polo shot on, blue pants and what shoes, he sat near a window and leaned on his hand; this was the protagonist of our story: Lincoln Loud.

"Like no offense dad, but you couldn't have chosen a worse time. Tonight me and Bobby were gonna celebrate our 10th week-aversary." His older sister Lori complained.

"Yeah, and Chunk got me and my band a sweet gig at the mall." his rock star sister Luna also put her two scents.

"Seriously guys, I'm all for family fun time as much as the next Loud, but not when it cuts in to anything we have planned." Lincoln told them, his sisters gave shouts of agreement.

"Now kids, I know this was last minute and all but this is our chance to get closer as a family." Mr. Loud explained.

"Your father's right kids; now come one let's all sing along to some show tunes." Rita Loud as she put a song on the radio it was one of those terrile traveling songs that no one likes, except for moms. The Loud kids all gave collective groans at this.

"Where's a car collision where you require one?"' Lisa muttered.

Little did the family or anyone else on the planet Earth high in the vast reaches of space a battle was taking place.

* * *

 _Past Earth's Atmosphere_

Up in space, as far as anyone could tell there was nothing going on until a vortex of blue and white appeared, the objects that came out of it were to hi-tech alien ships, one was light blue and green and was trying to evade laser fire. The source was a massive ship; it was heavily armed with an array of weapons, it was chasing the smaller one giving it everything it could throw at it. Inside its cockpit humanoid robot drones were at the deck, one was next to its master who was sitting on his throne, he was 30 ft tall with broad shoulders, his skin was pale green, and was wearing red gladiator-esque armor; his most distinguishing feature was that he had tentacles coming out of his chin, making it look like he had a squid for a face.

"Master Vilgax, our scanners indicate that the enemy's shields are failing." the drone informed its lord.

"Excellent." The alien now known as Vilgax said in a deep raspy voice. "Soon the prize I seek will be mine. Fire all that we have on that ship, tear it apart if you have to! We will salvage whatever remains! Nothing will keep me from the Omnitrix!" he ordered.

"As you command." the drone bowed. The rest obeyed his orders and did as he asked without question. The target ship then suddenly shot a small pod out of its front, it was quickly falling towards the planet Earth, which did not go unnoticed.

"Master, the scanner has picked up the omni energy of the device it is inside the pod that the enemy just launched. It is heading towards the planet below." a drone told him.

"Destroy what's left of the ship, then send drones to that primitive planet to recover it." Before more could be said the target ship pulled one last effort of resistance and unveiled a large laser cannon that fired on the it's pursuer head on. An explosion knocked Vilgax's ship off course.

"Ugh! What happened!?" Vilgax demanded. "Why didn't the shields defend us!?"

"We don't know sir, somehow the shield generator has decreased in power." a drone explained.

"Impossible!" The enemy ship fired another blast, this time at full power. "Send the drones now!" Vilgax demanded, his ship quickly launched its own pod to Earth, right before the blast hit the ship it originated from.

"Agggh!" Vilgax shouted in agony as he was consumed by the explosion.

* * *

 _Campground_

The Loud family was able to arrive at the campsite where they'll be spending the night.

"Well family here we are!" Lynn Sr declared. The campsite had a wide open space and was nearby a river. For some of the Loud siblings namely Lincoln they had to admit it seemed like a nice spot.

"Huh this place actually looks great. Were you here before dad?" inquired Lincoln.

The adult patted his son on the head. "Sure did son, back when I was about your age my dad took me here all the time, still as beautiful as I remember." he said with a look of nostalgia.

"It's also where your father and I had our first kiss." Rita Loud cut in. "Remember honey?"

"Oh how could I forget?" Mr. Loud said as he went over to his wife and proceeded to kiss her causing their kids to grimace, except for Leni.

"Aww!" Leni cooed.

"Gross." Lana muttered.

"Ugh there's like little zero phone signal her." Lori said. "Couldn't you have picked a spot near a phone tower?"

"Now Lori, this is supposed to be a family bonding experience." Mr. Loud admonished his eldest child. "No cellphones to distract us."

"Aghhh!" she scowled. "This is literally the worst."

"Alright then campers, let the bonding commemce!"

The family began to set up the tents, though Leni had some trouble with it since she tied herself with the rope. Lola was gonna bringing out the marshmallows, but saw that the bag was half-empty and saw her twin Lana eating most of them causing earning her a glare from her spoiled sister. Lincoln and Luna made the fire, and so the whole family was sitting in a circle around said campfire.

"So, the young teenage girl opened the basement door, and in it was the HOCKEY PLAYER WHO WAS ALSO A PIRATE!" MR. Loud exclaimed after telling a scary story. His kids however were more bored by it than spooked.

"Sorry father, but your attempt in telling a tale that would instill fear and anxiety into our nervous systems was in vain." Lisa told him blankly.

"I got one, it's the story of an incredibly beautiful blonde girl who put on the same dress that she wore yesterday!" Leni explained, everyone just stared at her. "What?"

"Someone just cut my guitar strings now." Luna muttered. They all suddenly heard a wolf noise from afar, this prompted Lola to squeak a bit.

Lincoln noticed. "Lola, you alright?" he asked a bit concerened.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." she stammered.

Lana decided to tease her a bit. "She's just super scared of the monsters that dwell deep in the forest." she snickered.

"Now Lana that's enough, we're supposed to get closer not tease each other." Rita Loud proclaimed.

Leni noticed a ladybug oh her hand and shrieked. "Ahh." She jumped into Lincoln's arms. "There are way too many bugs here, I wanna go home." she wined.

"Personally I like it here." Lucy said in her usual emotionless tone. "It's so dark and mysterious you literally have no idea what to expect. Any minute now a bear or perhaps a mountain lion could suddenly jump out and maul us to pieces, just imagine it." Her parents and siblings were holding onto each other in fright.

"Well I'll have trouble going to sleep tonight." Lincoln remarked, he saw Lily trying to reach out to a firefly, giggling while doing so. "At least you're having fun Lily." she smiled.

"Well I'm not." grumbled Lynn she then got an idea. "Hey Linc, there's a mud pile over by the river, how 'bout some mud wrestling little bro?"

"Mud wrestle! Mud wrestle!" Lana chanted. Lincoln however wasn't all for it.

"Gee I'd love to Lynn but..." he then saw the fire. "...look the fire's going out." Indeed the fire was beginning to die out.

"You're right son, looks like someone better get some more firewood. Hey honey, who's turn is it this time?" Mr. Loud asked his wife.

"I believe it's Lincoln." she responded.

"Aww what?" he grumbled.

"Come on Lincoln, 'wood' you please. Ha ha ha." Luan quipped.

"Just go already." Lori grumbled.

Sighing to himself, he relented. "Alright, fine." He began to venture into the woods.

"Be careful out there bro!" Luna called.

* * *

Back in space, Vilgax's ship was heavily damaged, several drones were at work with the repairs. Inside a round room, there was a cylinder-shaped chamber filled with light-orange liquid, inside was the charred body of Vilgax himself, he was missing his right arm and leg, he had 3rd degree burns and was connected to tubes. A door opened automatically and a single drone entered.

"Lord Vilgax, we have confirmation that the drons were able to land successfully on Earth, from what we could gather they traced the device to forest-like area." the drone informed.

"Good, they have their orders, find the Omnitrix and if there are any obstacles; destroy them! he snarled.

* * *

Back with Lincoln, he was walking through the forest, he hadn't found any firewood for he was too busy with talking to himself.

"Aww man, if I knew it'd take this long to get some stupid firewood, I'd have taken Lynn up on mud wrestling." his musings was cut off from a faint sound from his pocket.

"McBride to Loud, I repeat; this is McBride to aloud." The sound of his best friend Clyde called. Lincoln saw that it was coming from his pocket, he remembered that he bought his walky talky along.

"This is Loud, what's up Clyde?"

"Dude, this new episode of 'ARRGH!' is awesome, right!?"

"I'd agree with you, if I was watching it." Lincoln told him with his head down.

"Wait, you're not? But you told me this morning that you were gonna watch it as soon as it premiered."

"I know, but dad decided to to bring all of us on a camping trip, completely undermining my plans for tonight."

"Oooh, bummer. You're really missing out, they're just about to enter the..."

"No! No spoilers man, I was lucky enough to record it for tomorrow."

"Right, sorry. Anyway, later Lincoln."

"See ya Clyde." Lincoln bid farewell as he turned off the walky talky and put it back in his pocket, once again Lincoln was alone. He then looked up at the clear night sky.

"At least he's having a good time, not that I don't enjoy spending time with my family or something, it's just it's too _normal._ Everyday is the same thing, trying to get through life with 10 sisters, getting into sticky situations, it's gotten old now. I just wish that I don't know something out of the ordinary would happen, not the kind of weird I'm used to but a different kind of weird."

Before he could continue, Lincoln saw a bright object flying through the sky. "Woah a shooting star, cool." He marveled, his look of awe then quickly changed into one of panic as the so-called shooting star actually changed its direction somehow, not only that it was heading straight towards him! Yelling, started to run as far away as possible, but the object crash landed, sending pushing him to the ground unconscious.

* * *

At the campsite where the rest of the Louds were, they were waiting for Lincoln to come back.

"Lincoln has been gone for a while guys." Leni said; concern evident in her tone.

"Yeah, I hope he's okay." Luna said equally worried.

"Don't worry, the little twerp probably got lost or something." Lori dismissed but inside she was also wondering if something happened to him, they may have not always get along, but Lincoln's still her little brother.

"Or maybe he made friends with a pelican that probably got kicked out of a restaurant a few miles from here, wanna know why? because he had a big bill! Huh, huh?" Luan joked , trying bring some levity.

Lisa would've said something, if a continuous beeping hadn't caught her attention, she looked around to find where it was coming from, and heard it in the tent. She went over and picked up her backpack and pulled out some hand held device, this was noticed by the twins, Lynn, and Lucy.

"Hey Lisa, what'cha got there?" Lynn inquired.

"A mobile tracking device I made when I was 2, it's designed to detect any anomalies within it's radius, I carry it wtihin my person at all times."

"Why's it blinking? asked Lana.

"It seems to have picked up a unique energy signature." she answered "Something not even I have ever seen before. Interesting."

* * *

Lincoln was on the ground passed out for a few minutes, he then groggily opened his eyes, he rose up from the ground holding his head, which was aching a little, last thing he remembered was seeing a shooting star that somehow changed direction and...landed right near him. He looked ahead and saw a slightly big crater caused by the impact, Lincoln cautiously went over to the crater and saw what was in the middle of it. It was a circular like object with a protective shell.

"Kinda looks like a satellite or something.' he guessed, unexpectedly the edge he was standing on gave out causing him to slide over near the object "Woah!

He stood up and approached it, just as he was close enough, it suddenly opened up the contents within it was giving off a bright green glow. Looking inside he saw that it was some sort of wrist watch of unknown make, it had a white and green color scheme, the faceplate was black and shaped like a square with 2 green lines outlining what appeared to be an hourglass symbol.

"A watch?" he asked surprised. "What's a watch doing in outer space?" he wondered. Curiosity getting the better of him, he subconsciously lifted up his left arm and moved it towards it, just then the watch-like device actually jumped on his wrist, causing him to yelp in surprise.

"Ahh! G-get it off me! Get it off!" he shouted, Lincoln tried to pull it off but it was like it was glued to him, he climbed up from the crater and ran away. "Mom! Dad! Anyone!"

* * *

The Loud family were really starting to get worried, the fire was already burnt out and there was still no sign of Lincoln.

Lori was pacing for some time, Leni was looking at the woods, hoping Lincoln would come back, the twins were holding each other, Luan stopped making jokes and now actually started to be concerned, Lynn was biting her nails, even Lucy showed a little concern, Lisa as well and was still holding her device. Mrs. Loud was holding Lily who was starting to tear up with Mr. Loud at their side.

"Right, that's it." Luna said as she started to make her way to the forest.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lori asked grabbing Luna by the arm.

"What's it look like? I'm going to find our brother." Luna said yanking her arm away from Lori's grip.

"You don't even know where in the forest he might be." her older sister argued. "You might as well get lost yourself."

"So you want me to just leave him out there; not surprising." she scowled.

" _Excuse_ me?" she demanded.

"You heard me, you're probably glad that he's gone, you've never exactly treat him well like all of us and why wouldn't you? One less annoyance for the Loud sib that was born first." The two sisters stared each other down.

"Lincoln and I may have our differences, but don't think for a moment that I've never loved him, you're not the only sister that cares you know." They started to yell at each other, Leni, Luan, and Lynn went over to break it up, Lana Lola, and Liliy started to cry, seeing this Mr. Loud rose up.

"Enough!" he exclaimed causing everyone to be silent their father rarely ever yells let alone at them. "Look I know you're all worried, I am too but arguing won't make this any better. Here's what we do, we'll wait for a few more minutes if Lincoln doesn't come back until then, we'll go out to look for him. Am I clear?" Everyone nodded their heads. "Good now let's sit and wait." They all complied.

"Honey are you sure we shouldn't go now? I'm worried about him." Rita Loud told her husband, while rocking Lily to sleep.

"Me too dear, but I'm sure Lincoln's fine, he is a Loud after all plus he always had a plan for everything. Heck he's probably on his way back right now." Mr. Loud claimed with confidence.

* * *

Mr. Loud however was very wrong in his claim, for Lincoln was having trouble removing the strange watch that is now stuck to his wrist, he tried to remove it by hitting a few rocks on it but it turned out to be very durable, he pulled continuously but it had a good grip, he even used his teeth but the watch just wouldn't budge. He now resorted to a simple stick to force it off but just like before it was futile, the stick instantly broke. Groaning, Lincoln tossed the stick aside and now focused on the his new wristwear. It didn't look like any watch he's ever seen, it can't even show the time; yet he wonders where it came from and what's it for exactly.

"Just what is this thing?" he asked mostly to himself, he placed two fingers on the faceplate making a holographic ring appear causing him to gasp. On the ring were strange icons that looked almost like monsters. Lincoln was a bit shocked before smiling. "Cool!" he looked at the icon that seemed to shine brightly, he tapped on it which caused the holo-wheel to disappear and the faceplate to slide to the side, revealing a core that popped out, it had the same hourglass symbol but the center was green, he wondered what might happen next so he pushed the core down. A blinding green flash of light enveloped him.

Some weird green form of energy began to course through his body changing his entire form. Dark red molten rocks formed and covered his arms, legs, torso, and head, and the rest of his body, fire then ignited inside the rocks. After the light faded Lincoln saw his new form. He now stood at 7 ft tall, his body is now a humanoid magma-based life form, inside was a bright magma body covered by dark red rocks his face was basically on fire covered by a rock-like mask. His feet were now oval shaped with two toes on each with and were also on fire, the symbol of the watch's core was now on plastered on his chest. There was ony one reaction. "Aughhhhh!" Lincoln yelled in shock with a deep voice.

"Ahh! I'm on fire! I'm on fire! Ahh!" Lincoln ran around in panic, until he noticed something. "Wait, I'm on fire...and I'm okay." Indeed, despite his whole body being in flames, it actually didn't hurt, it felt harmless, natural even. 'What happened to me?' he thought looking a this fiery oversized hands, he noticed the hourglass symbol on his chest, the same one from before. "The watch, did it do this?". He started to look at his body.

"Man check me out I am hot!" he chuckled before facepalming. "Great, Luan's rubbing off on me." He took a step over and stepped on something, looking down he saw that it was his walky talky, it must've slipped out when he fell. 'Should probably watch my step.' he thought. Lincoln looked ahead and saw a tree, gazing at his right arm, he got an idea. He thruster his finger upward, firing off fire from it which hit the tree, blasting it to bits. Lincoln looked on in shock before grinning excitedly.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed. He put both his hands together, forming a fireball. "This is so cool!" he said as he threw the fireball at some more trees, Lincoln was clearly enjoying his new powers u"ntil he saw that the blast quickly rose and began to cover more trees.

"Wait, stop. Stop!" he said panicking, in mere seconds a blazing forest fire was rising, he tried stomping the fire out on the ground but only succeeded in starting more fires. The entire forest was being consumed, Lincoln was not enjoying this.

"Ah man, I am _so_ gonna get grounded for this."

* * *

The Louds were now beyond concerned, it's been 2 hours now and still he only son of their family has not been seen, timew as almost up, by then they'll all will go out looking for him. Leni then saw something from a distance.

"Hey guys I think someone's doing a bonfire." she pointed. Her family looked to where she was pointing, and saw a trail of smoke.

"That looks too big to be a bonfire." Lynn pointed out.

"Yeah." Lori agreed. "It...actually looks more like a..."

"Forest fire!" Mr. Loud finished, with a panicked look.

"Lincoln's still out there!" Rita exclaimed. The sisters also went into instant panic mode.

"Oh no!" Luna shouted.

"He's gonna get burned alive!" the twins shouted.

"Lori, Leni, there are fire extinguishers in the van, get them now." Mr. Loud ordered with urgency. They followed his lead and quickly went and came back with the fire extinguishers, Mr. Loud handed out one for each of them. "Split up into groups, put out as many fires as you can, Honey stay here with Lily." Rita nodded. "And above all else, find Lincoln!" Mr. Loud along with the rest of the sisters went into the forest, to find their missing boy.

* * *

Back with said, boy he was not having a good time, still in his fire creature form, Lincoln tried to think of a way to stop the raging flames around him that he caused by accident, which was easier said than done.

"Think Lincoln, think. There's gotta be something I can do, but as long as I'm stuck like this, I'll only make things even worse." he failed to notice that not far from him Leni was, using her fire extinguisher, as she backed up, she bumped into something hard and burning, turning around she saw that it was Lincoln in his new form, she stared at it for a moment, with him staring right back.

"Uh...hey" he said awkwardly, instead of greeting back, Leni gave a bloodcurdling scream making him back up, she then used her extinguisher to shoot foam on him.

"Calm down! I'm gonna save you! Stop drop and roll!" she shouted thinking it was some random guy who was on fire.

"Hey stop that!" he protested. "I'm okay!" seeing that he wasn't hurt, Leni relented.

"Wait, you're not hurt?" she asked. Before they could say anything else, Lori's voice called out.

"Leni! Where did you go?" Lori called from close by.

"Oh boy." Lincoln grimaced. It wasn't long until Lori along with the rest of his sisters (minus Lily) arrived "Is everything oka-" Lori cut herself off as she gazed at the fire-like being, she along with her sisters looked at it with shock before they screamed the same way as Leni.

Lincoln covered his ears. _'What is it with my family and screaming?'_

"Wha-What are you?" Lori asked in fright.

"Uh well..." he started. _'I can't tell them I'm their brother, they might not believe me, and even if they do, they might be afraid of me.'_ He was cut off by Lisa inspecting him through her magnifying glass.

"Fascinating, you're entire being is comprised of molten lava and fire, would you mind if I conduct an experimentation on you?" she inquired.

"Actually I do kinda mind."

"Wow, you look so cool!" Lana said in awe.

"Yeah, you're looking hot. Get it?" Luan quipped.

"Did that joke already." he told her. "Not as funny as you might think."

"Wait a minute." Luna began. "You're the one who started this fire!" she declared.

"What, no. Well actually I kinda did but..."

"He probably did something to Lincoln!" Lola accused. The sisters then aimed their extinguishers at him.

"Woah hold on..." he held his hands up in defense.

"Okay listen up fire monster-thing, what did you do with our brother?" demanded Lori, despite her fear, she wasn't gonna let some creature get in the way of them and their brother.

Before the fire being could explain, he looked to his right and saw a tree was close to falling right on top of his sisters.

"Look out!" He pushed them out of the way just in time, as the flaming tree fell, he caught and miraculously lifted it up, showing his great strength, he tossed it aside and looked at the girls with concern. "Are you all okay?"

"Yeah we-we're fine." Lori responded wide-eyed.

"You saved us." Lynn said, stunned.

"Thank you!" Leni cheerfully said.

"Anytime. Look, I know I look weird and all but I'm not the bad guy; sure I kinda did start the forest fire, but it was completely by accident I mean I'm made of fire, cut me some slack. Also I didn't do anything to your brother, in fact I saw him moments ago."

"Really?" they listened to the fire creature intently.

"Yeah, as soon as he saw the fire, he ran off probably to the wherever you all came from."

The girls weren't completely sure if they could trust the fire creature, but from the tone of its voice, it seemed to be sincere.

"Okay, but how are we gonna stop all this?" Lana asked.

Lisa rubbed her chin for a moment before coming up with an idea."Backfrire." she said.

"Excuse me?" Lola asked.

"Start a new fire and let it burn into the old fire; they'll snuff each other out." Lisa explained. "Given your fire based form, it shouldn't be a problem for you." she told him.

"Shooting flames, I can _definitely_ do." he said with a smirk. "In the meantime you all should go back.

"But Lincoln-" Lucy objected.

"I may not know the kid as well as you, but something tells me he wouldn't want all you hurt, especially if it's because of him." he stated.

Seeing that the fire was beginning to worsen, Lori saw that he was right.

"Okay, fine. Come on everyone." They all ran back to the campsite.

Sighing in relief that his sisters were out of harm's way, Lincoln proceeded to blast more fire, starting a new fire just as Lisa instructed. Seeing the fires beginning to collide with each other, he smiled in satisfaction.

 _1 hour later_

A jeep pulled over, the driver was a park ranger. Exiting from his vehicle, he was welcomed to the sight of charred trees made from a fire that had just burn out, he observed it with a confused expression.

* * *

Rita was sitting at the campsite holding Lily, waiting for her family. Hearing a rustle nearby, she turned and saw her husband.

"Dear! Where are the girls? Did you find Lincoln?" she asked frantically.

"I think they're still on their way back, it was weird; one minute the fire continued to rage, but then it started to burn out." he told her. "Also I'm sorry honey, but I couldn't find him-" he was cut off by his daughters' yell.

"Mom! Dad!" The Loud parents, plus Lily, turned and saw the sisters running towards them.

"Girls!" they went over and hugged them tightly.

"Are you alright?"

"What happened? Where's your brother?"

"We were looking for him but then we saw a fire crea-" Leni was cut off by Lori.

"Creeping! There was a lot of fire creeping, so we ran way. _Right_ everyone." she told her sisters, most of them knew where she was going with this.

"Oh yeah, that's it." said Lynn

"Affirmative." Lisa nodded.

"That's exactly what happened." Luna said.

"What?" Leni asked in confusion. "Don't you remember? We ran into a fire monster."

"Ha Ha, no we didn't Leni." Lola said through clenched. For what seemed like forever, Leni was clueless until she finally got the idea

"Oh. Oh! Yeah that's right." she said.

"Did you at least find Lincoln?" Their mother asked. The sisters shook their heads.

"Sigh. It saddens me to say that we have not." Lucy said.

"We can only assume that our sole male sibling got to a safe distance from the blazing area." Lisa concluded.

Little did they know, the missing boy was closer than they think, he was hiding in nearby bushes because he was still a fire creature.

"Oh man, what do I do?" he asked himself. "Should I tell them that I actually am their brother and son, and even if they do believe me how will they react? More importantly how do I turn back to normal? I don't wanna be fire dude forever." he thought about the name. "Hmm fire dude...not a creative name. Also how am I gonna read comics without burning them to ashes along with everything else." His musings were cut off as heard a beeping sound, looking at his chest he saw the Omnitrix symbol blinking red, then a bright red flash enveloped him; once it died down, he saw that he was back to normal.

"I'm me again!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey, who's there?" his dad called. They must have seen the flash of red.

"Guys guys, take it easy it's me." he went out of the bushes and approached his family.

"Lincoln!" they said surprised.

"Is everyone ok-" he was cut off as his family all gave him a group hug.

"Bro, where were you!?" Luna shouted.

"You were gone for like forever." Lynn said.

"We missed you!" the twins yelled.

"Woah woah, take it easy, I'm fine; saw some fire starting out there and made a break for it." he said.

"Just don't scare us like that again, you idiot." Lori told him as the family let go.

"So what now? Do we go home or something?" he asked.

"Oh no, a fire isn't gonna ruin this, but just to be safe there's a public area near here, lets pack everything and go there." Mr. Loud said. His family complied and began to gather their belongings.

Lincoln was with his sisters, ready to go.

"So I take it you guys went out to look for me." he guessed.

"Indeed." Lisa nodded.

"But Lincoln, you'll never believe what we saw." Lana said excitedly. "It was the coolest thing ever!"

"What was it?" he asked playing along.

"It was a guy who was completely made of fire!"

Lincoln feigned a skeptical expression. "Really?"

"We're not joshing bro!" Luna assured. "Every inch of the dude was up in flames."

"The unknown specimen was also comprised of molten rock as well." Lisa added.

"He must have a _rocky_ relationship with his wife." Luan quipped. "Ha ha."

"If his fire was black, then he'd resemble the fire demon I sometimes dream about." Lucy said.

"He started the fire, but it was entirely on accident." Lynn explained.

"Hey since it can't be hurt by fire, that means we can't be hurt by it too." Leni stated.

"Just because he can doesn't mean the same for us Leni." Lola muttered.

Lincoln turned to Lori hoping she can explain what really happened since she's the oldest.

"Look little brother, I now you like think we sound totally demented; I honestly don't blame you." she said. "But it's true, that thing actually helped stop the fire."'she told him with honest sincerity.

"Well if you say so." he said. "So what is he exactly? You don't see a guy made of fire who doesn't scream in agony everyday."

"The answer to your query is unknown at the moment." Lisa answered. "Such a species has never been recorded, so there is no clear statement of what manner of creature it is."

"At least he stopped the fire in time or I would've become roasted." he then looked apologetic. "Look guys, I'm sorry for not coming back sooner I didn't mean to worry you or mom and dad."

"Hey it's cool bro." Luna waved off ruffling his hair.

"Just don't scare us like that again twerp." Lori playfully teased as she and the rest of his sisters hugged him.

"Kids! Almost time to go!" their father called out. The siblings gathered all of their remaining stuff and went to the car except for Lincoln who lingered for a bit.

He looked to the alien watch-like device that transformed him, reaching to take it off he saw that it was still attached to his wrist.

"What kind of watch is this?" he asked himself. He never would've imagined finding this device and transformed him into a fire alien since it came from space, he put his finger on the face-plate again and like before a green holo-wheel appeared only this time an exclamation point was on it instead of icons.

"Is it broken?" he wondered.

There were many questions going through his mind all regarding the nature of the device.

Where did it come from? Who made it? What else could it do? At the moment he could only think of one thing.

 _'Should I tell the others?'_

"Hey Linc come on!" Lynn called.

"Coming!" he replied deciding to think about it later.

* * *

At the site where Lincoln found the Omnitrix, all was quiet; the pod where the device was stored was still in its place in the crater completely empty. Up in the sky another object from space was descending only this one was bigger, _very_ bigger. It lande spot just near the pod, the object was a towering figure and colored orange it stood still until four robotic legs extended from the bottom along with arms and its hea.

The being was a robot mechanism and looked around its surroundings, its scanners were searching for the device its master was seeking, it saw the pod but found that its contents was missing so it blasted it to bits with its laser arm. Seeing that its objective was not in the area it launched two disc like objects from its shoulders and a face extended from the top while lasers, claws, and other weapons extended from the bottom.

Their orders from their lord were clear, find the Omnitrix no matter the cost.

Even if the planet's inhabitants get in the way.

* * *

Lily Loud, the youngest of the Loud Family was with her mother who was putting the last of their supplies insider their van, while Rita was busy, the infant noticed a squirrel nearby. Giggling she waddled over to it, seeing her the squirrel scurried off with Lily following it.

This didn't go unnoticed by her only brother.

"Lily?" he saw her waddle into the forest.

"Hey where's Lily?" Lori asked.

"Just saw her go off there." he pointed. "I'll go get her."

"Hold it little bro, you stay here I'll go get her." Lori told him grabbing Lincoln by the shoulder.

"But-"

"Sorry Linc, but I literally don't want you to nearly get hurt again." she reasoned. "Don't worry I won't take long."

Lincoln saw Lori run off to find Lily. He understands that Lori doesn't want him to get hurt, but that doesn't mean he wants to sse her or Lily hurt as well, he thought about what he should do until he thought of something.

Gazing at the watch, he wondered if it would work this time. Placing his fingers on the face plate the holo-wheel popped up again this time the icons were present, the white haired preteen went behind some bushes to hide. Scrolling through the wheel, Lincoln figured he should probably use a different form, he stopped at one that had fangs but no eyes. Wondering how useful it could be Lincoln seleted that icon.

The hourglass core popped up once more, Lincoln went behind a tree so that no one could see him, he pushed the core down and was once again enveloped in a blinding green flash.

His body was beginning to change this time into something different. His skeleton regressed into a more primate shape, his muscles began to grow as orange fur started to grow from all parts of his body including his eyes and grew claws and big fangs.

Lincoln was now a large orange furred creature walking on all fours that seemed like a dog with an ape-like posture with no eyes or ears but it did have six gills knots neck. On its left shoulder was a black brace with a green hourglass symbol on it.

In his new form Lincoln snarled like a savage beast it appears he can't speak in this form, but the gills on his neck opened up allowing him to "see". It looked like he was looking at a thermograph of the place. He could pick up two scents that were his two sisters and leaped on to a tree.

He jumped from tree to tree at an inhuman rate determined to get to his sisters.

Meanwhile, Lisa was nearby and was about to climb onto the van until her device started beeping.

"My detector." she said in surprise. It pinpointed the same unknown energy from before, it was close by and moving. The scientist in her was curious as to what it was which was enough motivation." She went into the forest without anyone noticing.

* * *

Lily had lost sight of the squirrel and was now crawling on the grass looking for any sign of her family. The little baby girl was beginning to get scared until she heard a voice from behind she saw that it was her big sister.

"There you are Lily." Lori sighed in relief, she picked Lily up with her arms. "Don't go wandering off, we had enough trouble with Lincoln getting lost." she chided.

"Gah buh bah." Lily giggled.

Lori shook her head. "Let's just go." She began to head back carrying Lily in her arms.

However, unbeknownst to the two they were being observed by one of the drones that was sent to search for the Omnitrix it followed a faint energy signal and was closing in until you it saw the two humans.

Knowing they may prove to be a complication the most logical course of action was simple; eliminate complication. It slowly followed afterthem.

As she was in Lori's arms Lily heard something in the darkness.

"Gah! Gah!" she babbled trying to warn Lori.

"What is it?" Lori asked, her baby sister pointed to the trees and the leaves were rustling eerily. "Hello? Anyone there?" Her answer was a red laser blast that barely hit them where they stood. "What the?!" she exclaimed she saw the shooter as the drone.

"Wahhhhh!" Lily cried.

"Oh my god!" Lori shouted. Realizing the obvious danger, the teen ran to get her and her baby sister to safety. The drone gave chase to the earthlings, focused on eliminating them.

As Lori kept running making sure to keep Lily out of its shooting range, as she ran her mind was racing. First a fire monster now a killer robot? Today was really starting to get strange. She was running so fast she accidentally bumped into someone,

"Hey I am in motion here. Get your globular organs checked." a young voice snapped.

Lori knew that intellectual tone and using big words anywhere, looking down she saw that it was Lisa.

"Lisa?" What are you doing out here?!" she asked frantically.

"Calm yourself older sibling. I was merely investigating a-" she cut herself off as she saw the drone approaching. "What in Edison's light bulb is going on?!"

"Oh you know, just a killer robot that's about to kill us if we don't get out of here!" she shouted as she dragged her away.

Lisa however protested. "But this is a chance of lifetime. That mechanism is made of technology even I never seen before.

"Really?" Lori demanded. "That thing's trying to kill us and you wanna play doctor with it."

"I don't expect your short-sighted mind to comprehend but-" she was cut off by a second drone appearing and shot lasers as well. "On second thought, perhaps making a hasty retreat would be a sound suggestion." she admitted with actual fear in her force.

Unfortunately the two drones had the three Louds cornered, even the slightest movement would result in the robots firing them. But just when it seemed like the end, their attention was grabbed by a loud inhuman roar.

"Raaaaagh!" a savage orange beast tackled one of the drones and ripped it to shreds with its claws and teeth.

"An orange dog-thing, can today literally get any more crazy?!" Lori asked.

Lisa noticed. "Wait a minute, Lori look at the brace located on its scapula." the genius toddler pointed. "The symbol on it is the same as the one on the fire creature we encountered previously."

"So?" Lori asked.

"So you can acquire a photograph of it to show to the others." her younger yet smarter sister said which she did with her phone.

The other drone scanned the best, especially on the hourglass symbol, there was no doubt about it, it had the Omnitrix. Intent on completing its mission the drone fired lasers at the beast. But with its incredible agility, the creature easily dodged them, he leaped at the drone and like the lest tore it to shreds with its sharp teeth. With both threats to his sisters gone, he turned to them.

"U-Uh easy boy." Lori soothed nervously.

"Calm yourself Lori, since it bears the same emblem as the fire creature perhaps they are allies of some kind." Lisa suggested.

"Or maybe its his pet and when he's not here, he attacks anything that moves." Lori argued.

As the orange creature approached them, he looked at Lily and moved closer to her, the baby stared it for a moment before giggling and touched its muzzle.

"Hee hee, doggy!" she squeeled.

The creature smiled fondly and allowed her to continue petting him until he heard a beeping noise and looked at his shoulder and saw the symbol beeping red. It backed away and leaped back up to the trees.

Lori and her sisters simply stared in silence.

"Well..." Lori said breaking it. "...that happened."

Lisa looked at her device and saw that the signal was coming from the orange creature.

 _'It was the source.'_ she thought. "I believe, now is the time to return to the others before they begin to panic."

"Y-Yeah." Lori agreed. And so, they went back to the site.

* * *

Lincoln returned to the camp site still as an orange creature, once he landed on the ground a red light flashed again and he was back to normal.

"Okay that was crazy." he said. "What was up with those alien robots? At least Lori, Lisa, and Lily are safe."

Leni and Luna walked up to him.

"Hey Lincoln, have you seen Lori, Lily, and Lisa?" Leni asked.

"Yeah bro, we're about to leave." Luna told him.

"They're um..." he said nervously until he saw them emerge from some bushes. "Over there!" he pointed.

The three looked a bit exhausted.

"Hey you guys, you alright?" Leni asked.

"We're fine." Lori swered. "Just a little winded."

'What happened out here?" Luna asked.

Before she could answer, their father called out to them.

"Kids come on! W'ere leaving."

"I'll tell you in the car." Lori said. She and her siblings went in vanzilla along wit the rest of thier family and drove off.

While they were in the van, Lori made sure that their parents were too busy looking at the road to pay attention to them.

"Are our parental units' attention away from us?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah they are." Lori nodded "Now they can't listen in on us."

"Why?" Lola asked.

"Because, Lori, Lily, and I; well Lori and I wish to tell you about an experience we encountered out in the woods." Lisa explained. "Even though Lily was there, she wouldn't be able to properly explain the event since she lacks the ability to make coherent sentences presently."

To prove her point, Lily was giggling at the mobile attacked to her seat.

"Okay you guys, look at this." Lori pulled out her phone and showed them her photos.

"Bobby dressed as a matador?" Lincoln asked confused like the rest.

"What?" Lori looked at her phone and saw that it indeed was her boyfriend posing dramatically as a bull fighter. "Oh h-how did that get in there? Let me take care of that heh." she nervously said with a blush. "Okay here we go."

Everyone could now see the pic of the orange beast.

"Eww, what is that thing?" Lana asked disgusted by the ghastly creature.

Her twin however gushed. "Aw look at it." Lana said. "It's so cute with its huge claws and teeth ripping apart that robot thing."

"Is that a dog?" Leni asked.

"What happened?" Luna asked as well.

"Lily crawled off into the woods and I went to get her until these killer robots started attacking us, I ran away with Lily until we crashed into Lisa." Lori told them.

"Oh my gosh! Did they hurt you?"' Leni asked in concern along with the rest.

"Had it not for the intervention of the unknown orange specimen, then we most certainly would have." Lisa replied. "Though if you were to focus on the black brace, you might see something familiar.

They did so and took notice of the green hourglass symbol.

"Woah, dudes that fire guy we ran into had the same thing on his chest." Luna recalled.

"Precisely, this gives us the assumption that perhaps both creatures must have a connection." Lisa surmised. "Pity, that the advanced autonomous robots are no longer functional, I would have loved to study them."

"At least now they can _rust_ in peace." Luan quipped. "Get it?"

Everyone merely groaned.

Except for Lincoln.

 _'Oh man, I was too busy tearing those rustbuckets to pieces I didn't notice Lori snapping a pic.'_ he thought. He had a slight look of panic.

"Y-You know guys maybe we should leave this alone. I mean this was supposed to be a camping trip, now this whole thing with monsters and robots, we should probably forget about it." he tried to reason.

"Are you kidding?" Lynn asked incredulously. "This is the single coolest thing that could ever happen to us!"

"Yeah, Lincoln!" Lana agreed. "Heck we can find that dog and get mom and dad to adopt it!"

"No, Lincoln's right." Lori countered. "I for one literally did not ask for monsters of robots let's just forget about it and move on."

Things were quiet for the rest of the ride, after about 10 minutes the Louds made to a public area where there were RVs and a park ranger.

"All right everyone here we are." Mr. Loud told them.

One by one they each exited from vanzilla with their bags. They all gathered at the center.

"Alright, now we can spend the rest of this trip without any further..."

He was cut off by a sudden rumbling sound that sounded like footsteps, they turned and saw a towering shadowy figure make its way to them. Once it came to light they saw it as a giant robot that looked similar to the drones. It looked down at them with a menacing aura.

Them including all the other humans nearby looked up in both shock and terror.

"...Aaaaand I spoke too soon." Lori said with a fearful tone.

"So this is how it ends." Lucy said. "Kinda expected it to be a zombie. Ah well, beggars can't be choosers."

The giant robot raised its arm and fired a shot at an RV which exploded on impact, thankfully no one was inside but that didn't stop the panic.

"Let's get out of here!" a man yelled.

Everyone didn't need to be told twice, for they instantly ran away all around trying to escape.

"Kids, honey back to the van!" Mr. Loud ordered. They did so until said van was blown to pieces. "Aw come on!" he exclaimed. "I just fixed it back together!"

The giant drone looked over the Loud Family, in response they ran away as far from it unfortunately they got lost in the overflowing crowd. As a result Lincoln got separated from them.

"Guys!" he yelled.

"Lincoln!" Rita yelled back. "Everyone stick together!"

"Easier said than done!" Luna responded.

Pretty soon the entire family were separated, Lincoln got behind an RV and saw as the drone unleashed chaos onto everything in it's path. It was all horrifying to him, he wondered what could be done to stop this madness.

That's when it him; it hit like the time Lynn accidentally struck him with her bowling ball...don't ask how she threw it. He glanced at the watch and thought how used two super powered alien forms to save the lives of his siblings, maybe he can use it to save the lives of all these people. He activated it like before and scrolled through to find his next choice and stopped at the image of an icon that looked pretty sharped.

"Alright, here we go!" Lincoln declared as he pressed the core down and all you could see was a green flash. His skin began to be covered by what looked like a crystal like substance. It wasn't long until it covered his entire being and four crystal shards sprouted from his back. Once the transformation was complete he took in his new appearance, he had a strong physique and he looked like he was made of pale green crystals. This new form also came with body-wear as he was wearing a black bodysuit with white on one side and black on the other, his eyes were also now yellow. The Omnitrix symbol was on the right side of his chest.

Lincoln looked over his newest form, looks like it might be more durable. "Don't know what that this guy can do." he noted looking at his now diamond hand. "But I bet its gonna be cool." he clenched it in anticipation.

Leaping into action, he ran past a few campers and who stopped to stare at him in shock, he ignored him and looked up at the giant robot, he looked to his right and saw an abandoned car and smirked.

The robot blasted a few RVs, scanning for its objective, it's focus was bought by a yell.

"Hey rustbucket!"

It turns and reacted too late to a car hitting its head, when the smoke cleared, it was looked at its attacker; the diamond headed alien. "You want someone to pick on? Try me." it dared. The robot scanned it over and focused on the hourglass symbol; he found the Omnitrix, it raised its claw and fired a laser that blasted Lincoln into an RV, another shot was fired resulting in its destruction, the drone moved forward to inspect of the device survived, but saw a big diamond shard cut open a piece of wreckage, it revealed Lincoln to still be alive.

He took a second to observe his appendage. "Cool." Getting back into action, he went back to attacking the alien machine, the swung at it with his sword hand but the robot jumped. In mid-air it spun its legs and dived down, landing on top of Lincoln, pinning him down.

"Oh boy. This is not going as well as I hoped." he said in distress.

Lori and Luna who was carrying Lily tried to fin where the others were, especially their brother. "Lisa! Lincoln! Where are you?!" Luna called out. Her elder sister was looking to see any trace of the rest of the Loud clan, but then saw the robot and of course, the diamond alien it was fighting. "You have GOT to be literally kidding me!" she exclaimed. "Lori look!"

The blonde chronic phone user did so and saw the alien. "Wha-How many monsters are in these woods?!"

Back with Diamondhead, he was picked up and thrown right into a Hummer and carefully dodged each laser blast that was shot at him. One struck a tree and with wide eyes, he saw Leni, Lola, and Lana right in its path with fearful expressions. Before they could be hit, he got right in front of them and extended a back shard to cut the tree in half.

"You three okay?" he asked in concern.

His sisters stared at him with jaws open wide. Until Leni and Lola squealed and approached the diamond creature that just saved their lives. "OMG! You're so shiny!" she felt his crystal hard skin.

"Tell me you come in pink!" Lola begged with sparkling eyes.

Before Diamondhead could reply, he saw the robot reaching for him, he pushed his sisters away so that they couldn't be caught with him. "Uh-Oh." the robot raised him up and started pulling on his left arm. Grunting in response to the strain, Diamondhead formed several shards on his arm to destroy the hand that was pulling on it. In response, the robot shot him right into a shed that exploded on impact. Getting out of the rubble, the robot aimed another shot at him but Diamond head formed shard sword hands that once were fired at by a concentrated beam, the beam was reflected off him and into the robot's torso, damaging it a little. Diamondhead looked at his swords and observed his reflection.

He hummed in thought as a plan was starting to form in his mind. He ran straight at it and yelled to get its attention. "Hey tin man! Why don't you blast one right here?!" he challenged, pointing to his chest. The robot accepted this as he sent an even stronger blast, but Diamondhead raised his hands to contain the blast, it was physically straining on his part, but he had to work through it to stop this menace. "What goes around comes around!" he mused. "Let's see how you like it, you techno freak!" the blast reflected from his hands and completely obliterated the robot to pieces, ending it once and for all. "Alright!" Diamondhead pumped his fist at his victory. Then he noticed the incredulous and amazed stares from the campers who were still around. "Um, I'll just go." he summoned up a wall of crystal that once it went down, he was gone.

The diamond alien his behind a trailer and saw the symbol began to beep and once again he was back to human. "Man, I could get used to this." Lincoln smiled. He poked his head and saw Lynn and Lucy with a few of the others, namely his mother and Luan. "Guys! Are you okay?" he asked.

"Lincoln!" his mother gasped in relief as she hugged him. "Oh honey, thank god you're okay."

"Have you seen the others?" Lynn asked.

"Was kind of hoping you would tell me." Lincoln replied somberly.

"Guys look!" Luan pointed to the rest of their family who were all okay for the most part.

The husband and wife hugged each other out of relief and the siblings also were glad that none of them were injured during this whole period of danger. "Okay guys." Lynn Sr. addressed. "I think we've had enough of camping for one night. Let's head on home."

* * *

 _Above Earth's Atmosphere_

Vilgax's ship was still being repaired by the drones, while the war mongering tyrant himself was still recovering. He had just been informed of the drones' failure in procuring the Omnitrix, and he was far from being pleased. "Failure! Unbelievable!" he rasped with a furious scowl. "Whoever the puny Earthling that took my prize, the Ominitrix, from me is...his head will hang from my trophy wall!" he swore.

* * *

As next morning soon arrived Lincoln considered what to do with this new device he had just discovered. It completely amazed him that this watch could actually transform him into alien forms, each with their own powers. He considered if e should tell any of the others, but was still afraid if they would react negatively. So, he knew of only one other person he could turn to.

Clyde McBride was waiting patiently in his room, he got a call from Lincoln that he had big news for him to share. Then from outside, he swore he heard a loud sonic boom. Looking out his window, he saw a black and blue blur that in just a blink of an eye, it was inside his room.

"Ah!" Clyde jumped as he saw the creature. It looked as if it were some kind of semi-armed velociraptor, it had black wheels on his feet and was wearing some kind of black helmet with a visor that once it slid back, it revealed the blue skin with black marks and green eyes. It also had a tail with five blue stripes. A beeping was heard from the symbol on his chest and in a red flash, he was turned into his own best friend.

"L-Lincoln?!" the nerdy boy sputtered in shock.

"Clyde. Do I have a story for you." Lincoln told him as he held up his left arm to show him the Omnitrix.

* * *

Albert though that today was gonna be normal, his friends playing some bridge and poker, and Sue nagging at them like she usually does, but then he saw the news and bore witness to the amateur videos taken there.

The sight of the Diamond alien made him stand up in alarm and excuse himself from the game. Going into his room, he pulled a drawer and took out a round, disk like device. One that had the same hourglass symbol as the alien.

"Patelliday. It's me." he spoke into it. "I need a little update old friend."

* * *

 **Tell me what you think!**


	2. Mutation Situation

**Mutation Situation**

 **Chapter 2 of Linc 10: Bearer Of The Omnitrix. Last time, we saw our main protagonist gain the power of the Omnitrix and with it, he saved his family and other innocents from the robotic forces of the sinister Vilgax. With these fantastic new gifts, Lincoln decided that if he was going to tell anyone it was his best friend. Now, I think that in this story, Lincoln will be more mature than Ben was when first got the watch in the beginning of the series, since Lincoln is more open minded and less egotistical, not only that, but after the ending of the first chapter, you guys have obviously figured out that he's with the Plumbers.**

 **Now, I have plans to include other classic characters such as Kevin 11, Hex, Billy Billions, etc. And of course there's Azmuth.**

 **Finally, I want to talk about shipping. Now, I am a Ronnie X Lincoln fan, even though she moved away. But as we all know, Ben has a habit of gaining a lot of love interests. So, expect some girls to gain crushes.**

 **Don't forget to Fave, Follow, and leave your Reviews.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Okay. Run that by me again Lincoln." the nerdy, glasses wearing boy told his best friend.

The white haired child in orange groaned in irritation. "Oh crying out loud. Clyde, I've been going over this with you for about 10 times already. It's getting tiresome, bro."

"Well excuse me for being shell shocked." Clyde argued. "It's not everyday that my best friend shows up as some kind of super fast dinosaur monster! I need the full details." he pressed.

Lincoln Loud could only pinch the bridge of his nose. He realized that when he decided to tell the McBride boy about the monumental experience he had endured the night before would come as a huge shock, but his friend could have at least not taken so much time to ask him continuously to go over each event, all he told him was more simpler variations of it. Then again, Lincoln couldn't blame him, even the alien watch bearing boy himself could understand his overwhelmed emotion, heck he's still reeling from the events of last night, what started out as a simple camp out quickly escalated into perhaps one of the most incredible moments he's ever experienced. Which is saying a lot, considering he's in a family with so many kids. "Alright fine, I'll go over it again, this time in full detail. But this is the last time, got it?"

Seeing a nod, he began the tale. "Okay, so as you already know, last night, my parents decided to take me and my sisters out on a camping trip at a spot where dad used to go to. Needless to say, we weren't really enthusiastic about it, except for maybe Lana since she was playing with the animals. Anyway, while I was out in the forest getting some more firewood, I saw something up in the sky. I thought it was some kind of shooting star or something, but then it just randomly changed course and landed right near me. I looked in closer and saw that looked like it was a pod, it opened and inside was this." he held up his left wrist to show the watch. "I didn't know what to think, a watch outer space? It was unreal! I was kind of curious so I reached in for it and it just latched onto my wrist as if it had a mind of its own. Another thing is that I can't get it off, I fiddled with it a little and next thing I know I became a fire monster. Then I turned into a dog thing and a dude made of diamond-"

"-And you took down that giant robot." Clyde finished finally up to speed.

"Exactly." Lincoln nodded. "Caught up now, buddy? I don't need to repeat anything?" he asked, wanting to be sure that not much further needed to be explained.

"I'm good. I'm good." Clyde reassured his friend. He took a seat on his bed and looked into the air with amazement. "Man, so aliens really are a thing. Not only that, but you totally saved all those people Linc. It's all over the news, on the internet, basically anything with a screen. You're like some kind of superhero!" he excitedly told him.

Lincoln widened his eyes a little at the proclamation. "Superhero?" he repeated with uncertainty. "I-I don't know about that. I mean it was kind of a 'no other choice' situation, you know? I couldn't just stand by and let that overgrown toaster decimate my family and all those people. What's even more complicated about this whole mess is that you're about the only person who knows about this."

His best friend's eyes lit up. "Really? You mean, you haven't told anyone else? Not your family?"

Lincoln gripped his shoulders with a serious expression on his face. "No! Especially not my family! They can never have any idea about this!"

"Why not?" his friend inquired.

"Because they would seriously freak out." Lincoln explained. "Imagine if we're eating a normal dinner then all of a sudden the house burns down because I was made of fire. It would be too risky. Plus, I guess you can say I'm a little scared of what they would think of all this, I mean things are stressful enough dealing with a house of 13 people, this might makes things worse. That and Lisa might want to do experiments on this thing, and since it's stuck to my wrist, well she was never one to not include living specimens."

"But they're your family." Clyde pointed out. "You really think they wouldn't understand?"

"I want to say no." Lincoln replied honestly. "But, I don't know if I can risk causing a massive panic in our lives. Besides, after last night, I'm not sure they'd be too comfortable with that fact that their only son and brother can transform into aliens. For now, it would be best if we just keep this just between the two of us. For now at least."

"If you say so." Clyde then had a thoughtful look. "Say, how many aliens can you turn into?"

"Well including the one I used to get here, I'd say about 4." Lincoln answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Lincoln, don't you think you should test them out a little? See what they can do? Like you said, that watch is literally stuck on you, might as well see how it works. Who knows? There might be more."

The Loud boy puts a finger to his chin in thought and considered his friend's words. He had a point, with this device seemingly not going away anytime soon, it would be appropriate for him to get a handle on how to control the powers of his transformations. "You know something? That doesn't sound like that bad of an idea. Okay, so we need to find someplace where I can test out my powers. But where? Obviously, we can't do it here and we can't go to the woods, that place is on lockdown ever since the attack. I need someplace where there aren't that many people around, don't wannna blow my cover or anything."

"What about the junkyard?" Clyde suggested. "The guy who works there took a day off from what I heard."

"Good idea, pal. But what about your dads?" Lincoln asked.

"They're out for lunch." Clyde replied as he went to the room. "Come on Linc, let's get started."

* * *

On another side of Royal Woods was an old, apartment building that looked like no one has lived in it for many years. Inside however, there was only but one single resident still occupying the home, but he wasn't exactly in the best of shape himself. He had a scrawny physique and his skin was pale green, along with long, shoulder length white hair, and his eyes were yellow. His room was filled with animals locked in cages as if he had his own personal nature habitat. He seemed to be hard at work on something, so much so that he didn't hear the knocking on his door.

"Animo. ANIMO! I know you're in there, open the door already!" a loud voice was heard from outside. Frustrated, the man opened the door himself. He had balding brown hair and was wearing a business suit. He observed his animal infested room and cringed in disgust. "Sheesh. It smells like a zoo in here." he saw his tenant. "Hey, didn't you hear me outside?"

His voice startled Animo a she stopped his work and turned to him. "Roger!" he hissed hatefully. "How did you get in?!" Animo demanded.

"A new thing called a pass key." Roger retorted. "In case you forgot, I am still your landlord. Or maybe not anymore since your rent is about 6 months overdue." Roger told him. "I keep telling you over and over, if you want to continue living in this dump, you need to pay up or find somewhere else to waste someone's time."

Animo scowled furiously. It was regular for his landlord to demand payment since moving in, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. "All of my funds go into my research. Now get out!" he pointed to the door. "You're disturbing me." he went back to add the finishing touches.

Roger scoffed. "Ha! Looks to me like you've been disturbed long before I got here. Now I don't like repeating myself so I'm only gonna say this one last time doc; either you pony up the green or you and your furry friends are out on the street." he warned.

Instead of cowering under the threat, the animal scientist merely smirked in amusement. "Pony up. Very interesting choice in phrases." he picked up one of his frogs and placed it on a desk. "I can only assume you must be an animal lover." he began to put on some kind of containment device on his chest. "Then you're gonna love this." he placed a helmet on his head that resembled an insects antennae that made him look absolutely ridiculous.

Roger agreed with this sentiment as he let out a laugh. "Pfft! Hahahahaha! What's that? You a member of the moose lodge or something?"

Animo glared and pointed to the round device on his chest. "This, you simple minded microbe, is my Transmodulator. Otherwise known as phase number 1 in my plan to claim what's rightfully mine. It creates and accelerates the mutations at a pathogenetic level. With it, I can finally show those simpletons who denied me of my success how wrong they were." he started to smile sinisterly. "Do you wish to know why I decided to move here in Royal Woods? About 2 months prior to right now, I learned that an old friend of mine is planning on visiting this town. He's bringing something of mine that he stole and I _will_ get it back. And it will be all thanks to this device. Observe." he tuned the dial and the horns fired a beam of red energy that struck the frog.

It started to grow in size and mass, horns sprouted from the two sides of the head and grew an extra pair of eyes along with blemishes on the back. It was now gargantuan sized and looked threateningly at Roger who shrunk back in fear and shock. "AH!" he screamed as the giant frog leaned down and enveloped him into its mouth. He struggled to break free but it proved futile. Animo approached his new pet with a delighted a smile.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't hear you." he said to Roger with a mocking tone. "It appears you have a frog in your throat! Or is that the other way around?! Ahahahahahaha!" he cackled maniacally as his giant frog spat Roger out and the landlord slipped into unconsciousness. With him out of the way, Animo was free to muse on his intentions. The scientist held up a picture and seemed transfixed by it. "Ah." he sighed. "So close to getting what I truly deserve. All I need are a few lousy components!" he gripped the photo in frustration.

As if on cue, a TV commercial popped up.

 _"So whether you need is hairspray or sate of the art electronics, you'll find it here in the new wing of Royal Woods Mall! SO come on down today!"_

Animo smirked. "Ah. Just what the doctor ordered."

* * *

The junkyard was filled with nothing but discarded, outdated, and smashed up vehicles. Along with the fact that the person who usually runs the machine that smashes the cars is taking the day off, this indeed was the perfect place s for Lincoln to test out his new transformations. Lincoln and Clyde climbed over the fence and went to a secure open spaced area. "Alright, this looks good enough." Lincoln said. He activated the touch screen and scrolled to his selected alien. "Alright. Here goes." he pressed the icon and slammed his hand on the core.

Once the green flash died down, he was once again transformed into his fire-based form. "That never gets old." he said as he looked down at his friend. "So what do you think?"

Clyde's jaw was wide open and his eyes shrunk behind his glasses. "Lincoln..." he started slowly. "That is awesome!" he exclaimed.

"I know, right?" the now transformed boy replied, just as excited. "I can barely feel any pain with all this fire."

"So what do I call you while you're like this?"

Lincoln looked at him questionably. "What do you mean?"

"You expect people to guess your name like this? If you're gonna transform to be a superhero, then you need some kind of name for each guy. It would be easier for you to hide your identity."

"Okay one, I'm not actually considering this whole superhero thing. And two, you do have a point there." he admitted. "Alright, I start fires. Fire Starter?"

Clyde cringed a little. "Sounds like a gang name. What bout Charcoal Man?"

Lincoln rubbed his head with a skeptical frown. "Not so sure about that. I'm not big on the cliché names pal." he thought about his for a moment. This new form was heat based and it could blast fire. Wait...

"Heatblast." he blurted out.

"Come again?" Clyde asked.

"That can be my name." the newly dubbed Heatblast explained. "Especially since I can do this!" he thrusted his arm forward and shot a fireball that blew up a car. "Am I right or am I right?" he folded his arms.

"Oh that definitely fits!" Clyde nodded in agreement. "You got anyone else?"

Heatblast looked down at the symbol adorned on his chest and thought for a second. It beeping red seemed to be the only way for him to go back to normal, so he tapped on the symbol and was once again blinded by a green flash. This time he was the dog-like alien with no eyes.

"Grrrrrr." he growled lightly as slobber drooled from his mouth. Its gills detected Clyde's signature and could see him. "Raghhh."

The McBride boy warily approached it. "Uh Lincoln, can you see me?" the orange creature leaned on a closer, causing his friend to be a little nervous. Then, it smiled, relieving his best friend of any worry. "Phew. So, you can't speak?" the creature shook his head. 'Hmm." Clyde raised its hand and moved it to te left which Lincoln could follow perfectly. "But you can smell good. So if I tell you to attack that truck would you-"

"GRAGHHHHH!" the orange beast lunged at the truck and with his sharp claws, he completely slashed apart the vehicle and with his strength, tore off the roof and chewed it to pieces with his sharp fangs.

"Okay. Now for the name." Clyde tapped his chin. "Razor?"

Lincoln growled and looked away in a huff.

"No? How about Dog-Nabbit?"

His answer was a shake of the head.

"Well, you went pretty wild on that truck." Clyde commented. "Wilder than any mutt I've ever seen."

Lincoln's furry head perked up and yelped happily. He tapped the symbol and turned human again. "Wildmutt!" he pointed at his friend. "That's a perfect name."

Clyde thought about it and had to agree. "It really is, isn't it?"

"Right." Lincoln scrolled to the next one. "Time for number 3." pressing down the core and was the diamond based lifeform from the night before.

"Wow. Way cooler looking at you like that up close." Clyde marveled.

"Tell me about it." Lincoln replied. He formed shard swords with his arms. "Alright, all I could do before was use these to fight that robot." he waved them around. "Don't know what else I could-Woah!" he was taken back as crystal projectiles fired from his appendage ad struck a few discarded lamp posts. "Okay, I can apparently do that too." he noted with a surprised tone.

"You know Lincoln, back when you were fighting that robot, no matter how many times it blasted, you always got up." Clyde recounted.

Lincoln nodded his head. "It's true. It kinda stung a little but not by that much." he then chuckled a little. "Heh, my head must be diamond hard." his eyes perked up. "Diamondhead." he started nodding with a smile. "Yeah, that could work." transforming back to human and taking a deep breath, he went for the symbol, ready to try out the last alien on the list. His form went through another change, his skeleton became more sleeker and lighter. The legs heightened a little, shrinking, yet condensing as well, the leg muscles turned denser as his feet contracted into tiny claws, forming black spheres underneath. The boy's arms slimmed down as the hands melted into pincer-like black claws. A black helmet also appeared around his face, with the visor hiding the hs now blue-scaled face.

Once gain he was the same speedy alien, wearing a full black bodysuit. "Okay, so this one can be fast." he noted. "Now let's see just how fast." before his nerdy friend could even blink for just one second, Lincoln was gone instantly and then came back with one of those large hats British guards wear while on duty. "You would not believe where I was just now!" he chirped excitedly

"You were in England." Clyde breathed.

"Heck yeah I was in England." Lincoln smiled. "In fact not just there..." he ran once again and each time he came back, he had a different souvenir that originated from all the countries of the world. "This guy is awesome!" he proclaimed. "I'll never have to do a stupid favor for Lori just to get a ride ever again. Now for the name, and before you say anything. I don't want a chessey name bro. Not like that prototype name you suggested for Lori when we made that Ace Savvy comic."

"And what was wrong that name?" Clyde demanded, a little offended.

"You named her Bride Of McBride." Lincoln deadpanned.

"So?" a blank look from him was enough to make Clyde concede. "Fine. Looks like Speedy-Quick is out the window. Which before you judge have to admit that it fits, I mean you accelerated at speeds that would put race cars to shame." his eyes lit up. "Hey, how about Accelerate?"

"Hmm. Simple and self-explanatory." Lincoln noted. "Sounds like a keeper, but I can't help but feel that it can sound much cooler. I got it, it can be XLR8." he specified. "Pretty clever, huh?"

"It really is."

Before more could be said between the two, a red beeping sound was heard from the symbol and XLR8 was back into his normal, human form. The white haired boy looked at the watch and touched the plate again, only for it to beep red and the scrolling screen appeared which said '10 minutes before full power. "Huh. Looks like it has a recharge mode." he observed.

"An alien device that stills needs to charge?" Clyde questioned.

Lincoln shrugged. "Must be a constant in the universe. I guess that can be all for today." he told his friend. "Now look Clyde, remember, no one can know about this."

"You don't have to worry Lincoln. My lips are sealed." Clyde promised.

"You're a true friend." Lincoln smiled in gratitude. The two kids went out of the junkyard and bid farewell to each other as they both parted ways to go back to their separate homes. As he walked, Lincoln couldn't help but think about what Clyde said about him using his new powers to help people around Royal Woods, to actually be a superhero. In all honesty, it was appealing to him, ever since he was about Lisa's age, he's had wild fantasies of becoming a real life superhero. He knew enough now to know that it probably would never happen, but now that he had this watch, that dream could actually become a reality.

He saw his house come up and as he went in, he saw Leni watching TV. "Hey Linky!" she greeted enthusiastically. "The Audition is about to come on, wanna watch with me?"

"Not right now Leni." Lincoln kindly rejected the offer. "I need some time by myself right now, hope that's okay."

"Oh for sure Lincoln." his ditzy older sister nodded. Just as Lincoln was about to go up the stairs, the fashionable blonde headed teenager caught sight of something on her little brother's wrist. "Hold on." she spoke up making him stop in his tracks. She got up from the couch and took his wrist and saw the watch, making his eyes widen on panic as she gasped. "Lincoln! This is...this is..."

"Leni, I -I can explain!" Lincoln told her with sweat going down his head.

"...this is the cutest watch I've ever seen!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.

Lincoln did a double take. "Wait, what?"

"I mean just look at it." she told him. "It looks so functional and so fits with your whole look and everything. No offense, but going with just orange was kind of tacky, but this is a nice change. Where'd you buy it?" she asked.

Her only brother could only blink in total amazement that she didn't connect the dots. Then again, this was Leni he was talking to, so this should have been expected. "Oh this. I just bought it at some store and junk." he tried to make it seem unimportant. "I completely forgot that it was even there."

Leni gave him a sympathetic look. "You have that problem too? I totally can understand that. I always forget where I put my shades."

"They're on top of your forehead." he pointed out.

She felt her head and saw that her glasses were indeed there. "So that's where they keep running off to." she did a cute giggle. "Silly sunglasses."

"Riiiiight...I'm just gonna go." he went up and locked himself in his room. A part of him had a slight twinge of guilt, most likely coming from having to lie to one of his sisters. One thing he felt bad was that he had to keep the watch and the fact that he was those alien heroes a secret from them, he could never lie to any of them, it just wasn't in his nature. With every secret he has, he would share it with them in their Secrets Club and they would swear to keep it private and he would take their word for it. Except for maybe Lola, but that was before she was starting to learn how to be less of a tattle tale. But back then it was secrets that normal people would want hidden, but in case it wasn't obvious already, this was not a normal secret. He can physically turn into real aliens and one could only imagine the chaos of revealing it could entail.

His musings were cut off once he heard a ping noise from his laptop that was on his desk. He knew what that meant. He was getting a call from a close friend of his. Sitting on his chair, he opened the laptop and saw the image of Ronnie Anne Santiago, she was his friend who happened to be a girl but she's not his girlfriend even though they've kissed two times before. Yeah, it's a complicated relationship. Ever since she, her brother and her mother moved away to live with her extended family one state over, they often see each other through video chat.

"Hey there Lame-O." she said with her usual teasing tone that he's actually come to be fond of.

"Hi Ronnie Anne." Lincoln greeted back. "You got something to talk about?"

"Well duh, doofus. I gotta know if what they said on the news about some robot attack being true." she told him. "You'd be surprised by how fast news can travel. Over here, people have been going crazy about it, my uncle Carlos hasn't stopped trying to come up with a rational explanation and I just have to know, is it true?" she pressed.

That was surprising to say the least. He knew that what happened last night would attract attention but didn't think it would move to far away places. "Uh right, that. If you must know I was actually there to see it myself. Was out on a camping trip with my family and saw the whole thing and it was one hundred percent real."

"Shut up!" Ronnie Anne stared at him in shock.

"Don't believe me? I can go fetch one of my sisters or my parents, they can confirm it."

"Wow." the Latino girl whistled in astonishment. "And there was actually a dude made out of diamonds?"

"Pretty much." he nodded his head. "It was pretty wild." he did his best to act amazed to escape any suspicion.

His not-girlfriend shook her head. "Man. A girl moves away for only about 5 minutes and this happens."

Lincoln chuckled weakly. "Yeah, heh. Things have gotten interesting since you left." he muttered something under his breath. "In more ways than one."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing." Lincoln denied. "So, how are things at your new home? Settling in alright?"

Ronnie Anne shrugged. "It's actually better than I thought. I mean, I'm still trying to get used to living with so many people, but it's coming along nice. Doesn't mean I don't miss being in Royal Woods."

"Translation: You miss picking on me." Lincoln smirked.

Ronnie Anne gasped dramatically. "Lincoln Loud. I am insulted." she faked being hurt. "Do you honestly believe that I miss pulling pranks on you?"

Her not-boyfriend still had his smirk. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Okay, you got me there." Ronnie Anne chuckled. "But, you know I do miss other things."

Lincoln looked at her curiously. "Really? Like what?"

The skateboarding fanatic's face started to go red that confused him. "W-Well, I miss hanging out. With uh, with you." she cleared her throat. "You know, as friends. Not Bobby and Lori, am I right?" she chuckled weakly.

Soon, Lincoln too started to blush and sputtered a little as he gave an answer. "Oh yeah, right. Because you know, we're not a thing or whatever. I mean, we're just friends. Really good friends who have kissed." he glanced sideways.

"Which totally didn't mean anything." Ronnie Anne noted. "Um, it didn't, right?" she asked, wanting to make sure.

"Of course not." Lincoln sweated nervously. "Because if it did then we might as well be like our older siblings. Which would be weird." he started forcefully laughing. "Can you imagine?"

Ronnie Anne started her own forced fit of laughter. "HA! There's no way that could happen, I mean, we work so much better as friends. If we actually did that kind of stuff, then nothing would make sense!"

"True that!"

Both of them continued to laugh until it started to die down and were now in an awkward period of silence. They both couldn't think of any other subject to converse about, so they didn't say anything for a while. Ultimately, it was Ronnie Anne who broke the silence. "Soooo...I'm gonna do...something." she scratched her head.

"Same here."

...

"Smell ya later, Lame-O." she said with a weak smile as she signed off, leaving Lincoln alone to watch the blank screen with a downcast expression.

"Not if I smell you first." he said with a sad frown. He closed his laptop shut and slammed his face on the disk and groaned miserably. "Ughhhh..."

"Poor big brother. It pains me to see you like this."

Lincoln sat up and jumped at the sudden voice, he turned and saw someone else on his bed. Like always, it was his younger gothic sister who once again showcased her uncanny ability to appear out of nowhere. "Lucy!" he gaped at her, calming down a little. "How...How long were you sitting there?" he asked, afraid that the poet might have overheard the entire exchange.

Unfortunately, his fears were confirmed.

"Long enough." Lucy replied in he usual monotonous and raspy voice. "I was gonna ask if you could help me with my poems, but then I saw you video chatting with Ronnie Anne, so I got curious and decided to listen. "Hope you're not too mad at me for eavesdropping."

"It's okay." Lincoln replied. "I'm kidna used to it by now. Plus, even if you hadn't come into my room, you would have listened from your own room anyway." he pointed to the walls. "Thin walls, remember?"

"Good point."

"Which is why I'm here." they turned and saw Lori walk in with a sympathetic look on her face, directed towards Lincoln.

"Great." Lincoln said with ample sarcasm. "I'm guessing everyone heard us talking."

"No." Lori shook her head. "At least, I hope not." she shrugged

The eldest of the Loud siblings sat on bed followed by her only brother and he was back to his downcast expression. "So tell me Luce , Lori, how bad was that?" he questioned, referring to his conversation with Ronnie Anne.

Lucy and Lori shared an anxious look, the teeneager took a moment to come up with a response. "I wouldn't call it 'bad'". she said, trying to preserve her brother's feelings.

"Oh really?" he rolled his eyes in a disbelieving tone.

Lucy reconsidered her woods. "Okay yeah, it was so painful to watch." she admitted.

Sighing, the white haired boy collapsed on his elder sister's lap and she promptly stroked his hair softly to comfort him. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Could it had ended any more awkward?"

"Don't beat yourself too much about it little bro." Lori soothed. "It hasn't been that easy for me and Bobby being so far away from each other either." she said with a frown of her own but sent a reassuring smile. "But we've managed to keep both of us stable, I'm sure you and Ronnie Anne can make this long distant relationship work."

"Maybe." Lincoln said but then picked up on the 'r' word. "Wait, relationship? No, she's not my girlfriend." he denied but saw the doubtful looks from his sisters. "I mean, she's very close to me, but I wouldn't say that we're _that_ close."

"But didn't you two kiss two times?" Lucy recalled.

"Well yeah, but-"

"Not to mention she loves video games just as much as you." Lori supplied as well.

"Granted, but that's not enough-"

"The point we're trying to make is that you two might as well be a thing."

"Okay, I get it!" he made them stopped from digging any further. "So we're closer than we care to admit." he conceded. "Not like it matters now. She's living one state over. Who knows? Maybe she already met a boy who must love doing kick flips off of stairwells as much as she does. Or met a prankster who likes messing with people lie she does with me."

Lucy laid a comforting shoulder on her brother's shoulder. "Don't speak in such a negative manner Lincoln. We all know that's my thing. And if you're worried about her moving on, maybe you could try the same." she suggested. "My friend Haiku likes to talk about you from time to time. She got over the whole Sadies Hawkins Dance thing or maybe that Paige girl you met at the arcade."

"I don't know." Lincoln said, doubtfully. "I'm 11 years old. Should now really be the time for me to think about stuff like that?"

"It's never too late to fall in love Linky." Lori told him. "Do you want to talk about anything else?"

Lincoln shook his head. "Appreciate you two listening, but I think I want tp be alone right now.

Nodding in understand, his sisters exited his room, leaving their brother alone to lay down on his small bed. He lifted his arm so that he could see the alien watch stuck to the wrist, he started thinking that as long as it was attached to his being, any chance of having a normal childhood or even a normal life went out the window. He also thought about how Ronnie Anne would react to all this if she never have moved away in the first place or if by some miracle, she decided to move back. She was a tough girl, in fact before moving, she built up quite a reputation in school and the neighborhood as the resident toughest girl in her grade, he of all people knew that himself, but he wondered if even someone like her could accept him for having such power, he wondered if anyone in Royal Woods would be okay, should any of them find out.

Deciding to take his mind off all the alien watch and Ronnie Anne business, he decided to focus on retaining some normalcy on his life. He got out of his room and wondered if one of his sisters weren't too busy to hang out. He looked into Lisa and Lily's room and saw the young toddler prodigy looking up on something on her computer. What was interesting to note was that she actually expressed excitement. Very surprising, considering that she's one of the two Loud sisters who rarely show emotion.

He knocked lightly on the door to get her attention. "Um, Lisa?"

She snapped out of her excited daze and looked to the entrance. "Ah, hello Lincoln. Do you require something?" she inquired. "If not, then you know the way to your dwelling."

"I was just passing through until I saw you actually look excited." he told her. "So what's up?"

Lisa cleared her throat to make herself look professional, mildly embarrassed that one of her siblings saw her show real life emotion for once. "Well, my sole male sibling unit, if you must know, in about 24 hours, Royal Woods will be visited by a personal hero of mine." she beckoned him to look at the computer. He saw an image of a middle-aged man who looked very important. "This is Doctor Kelly. A renowned researcher who won the famous Verity Award years earler, and he is coming to _our_ hometown."

Now, it might just be his imagination, but he could have sworn that he heard he squeal like Lori or Leni do whenever they go to a Boys Will Be Boys concert. "So, I take it you're a fan?" he surmised with an amused tone and chuckle.

"That is not a term I would use." she replied. "A much more accurate description would be a fellow scientific peer who happens to greatly admire the accomplishments of a fellow peer so much, that she enters into a state of excitement whenever he appears in the town of which said girl happens to live in."

Her elder brother smirked, despite her using big words, he saw right through her. "Yeah, you're totally a fan, baby sis."

"Call it what you want." Lisa replied with an annoyed frown. "I was also working on some theories on those creatures from the night before." she added.

Lincoln's smirk faded in a panicked look with wide eyes. "C-Creatures?" he sputtered a little too nervously. "Um, you mean those aliens? Why would you wonder about them?" he chuckled weakly." inside, he was mentally slapping himself for not considering Lisa wanting to know about his transformations. She was a young genius, it's in her nature to be curious about these sort of things.

"Well why wouldn't I?" she asked as if it were obvious. "I don't expect you to understand, but what we witnessed was a race of intelligent species that could potentially be from the stars themselves. This is my one chance to make scientific his tory, oh the experiments that could be done with those unique specimens."

Before more could be said between the two of them, they heard someone call the boy's name. "Lincoln! Lincoln! Lincoln!" Lana soon entered the room, screaming for the white haired boy. "Can you take me to the mall, please?!"

"Why?" he asked. "I thought you liked Dairy Land more than the mall."

"Because they just opened a new pet store and I want to check it out!" the little blonde tomboy explained. "I already asked mom and she said yes, but only if one of my older siblings come with me."

"Then why not ask Lori to drive you there?" Lincoln pointed out.

"Duh, I don't want to do any favors for her." the animal lover told him matter-of-factly. "That and I can't find her retainer in the garbage. Also Lisa, mom also said that you need to come too." she informed her younger but smarter sister.

In response, the prodigy's eyes bugged out behind her glasses. "What?! For what reason?!" she demanded.

Her older more dirty sister shrugged. "Something about being in your room too much or something. Said that if you don't come, then I can't go, so pleeaaaaase?" she begged.

Lisa scoffed. "Apologies Lana, but I have hours of work to take care of at the moment. To partake in something so trivial, would be a waste of my-"

"She also said if you don't, then she and dad will sell all your machines to the government."

"When do we leave?" Lisa instantly changed her mind.

"Okay, let's go." Lincoln said as he and his younger sisters made their way downstairs and out of their house.

* * *

The Royal Woods Mall may not be Lincoln's first choice in spending recreational time, but at the moment, he really didn't have anything else to do, he wasn't in his usual playing video games or reading comic books mood, so he figured helping one of the Loud twins survey the new pet store and getting his genius sister out of her lab for a change would be enough to get his mind off certain things. Once they arrived at the mall, it didn't take long for them to find the pet store, and Lana wasted absolutely no time in looking at all the cages, especially the ones that held reptiles, those were among her favorite species in the animal kingdom.

"Ooh. Look at this one!" her eyes sparkled. "No, look at that one there!" she observed the animals in childlike wonder.

"So, Lana seems to be enjoying herself." Lincoln observed with a smile before looking down at Lisa. "Want me to buy you something to eat?" he asked.

The brown haired little girl shook her head. "That won't be necessary brother. If you need me, I'll be observing the electronics store. Might as well do something productive while being forced to be here." she said as she walked to the store next door. Lincoln decided to leave his sisters be and started to walk out, but he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oof!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I-" his apology was cut off as soon as he saw who he bumped into. She was a girl his age with spikey black hair with a single purple streak wearing punk rock attire. "Tabby?" he asked, genuinely surprised. It certainly has been a while since he last saw her, she was a date that Luna set him up with along with three others for the Sadies' Hawkins Dance.

"Lincoln?" the young rocker questioned before smiling. "Hey, it's been too long, mate!" she shook his hand with a little too much force. "How ya been?"

"Um, pretty god." he answered with an uncertain and somewhat nervous tone. "Didn't really expect you to be here to be honest."

"I'm was just at the music shop, listening some new music that just got released. You should check it out, best 10 dollars I ever spent." the British accented girl promised.

Her one time date scratched his head. "Maybe some other time." he started backing up a little. "You know what? I should go check on one of my sisters. I'm supposed to be watching them, so..."

Tabby grabbed his hand which made him freeze and blush a little. "Woah, hold up there snowball head." Tabby stopped him. "Why so nervous luv, you scared I might bite?" she jokingly chuckled.

Lincoln rubbed his arm timidly. "No. It's just, aren't you still kinda mad about the whole dance thing?" he reminded her.

To his surprise, Tabby waved it off dismissively. "Oh that? Ancient history mate, how were you supposed to know your sisters would set you up with dates? Besides, we still had a good time, I mean you really know how to party."

"Heh, thanks." he bashfully replied before raising an eyebrow. "Wait, what about Liam?"

Tabby winced a little. "He was okay, but after that, it didn't really work out. After spending one day at his barn, let's just say that I'll never look at cows or chickens the same way again." she shuddered a little after that memory.

"Yeesh, forget I asked." Lincoln cringed. "So, we're cool then?" he asked.

"Definitely." she nodded in confirmation. "I'm just chilling out 'till I decide to head home."

"Well, bye." he waved as he went to the electronics shop to check on Lisa. However, both he and Tabby froze as they felt and heard the sound of rumbling nearby. It wasn't just them, but his sisters and the other patrons of the mall could feel the sound of rumbling that came from the other side of the mall, right where Lincoln was. Before the young boy could react, the wall was broken with intense force, that pushed him and the punky girl back a little, both kids saw the unbelievable sight of an oversized frog with a green skinned human riding on top of it. Lincoln's eyes bugged out of his head. "What the heck?!" he exclaimed in shock. _'First alien robots. Now a giant frog?!'_ the man riding the oversized frog guided him to hop over to the electronics store, with Tabby too petrified to move out of the way. Thinking fast, he tackled her to the ground, he saw the mutant frog hop away and saw where it was heading. "Oh no, Lisa!" he raised his voice in alarm. Looking down, he checked on his friend. "Tabby, you okay?"

The punk girl didn't respond due to the light blush adorned on her face caused by the position they were in, which was him being on top of her. "Buh...Buh...Buh..." she stammered.

Lincoln looked at her, confused. "I'll take that as a yes." he helped her up and ran to the store but not before yelling to her. "Get out of here! I'm going for my sisters!"

"Lincoln, wait!" Tabby attempted to go after him, but was pushed farther away from panicking shoppers.

The white haired boy was running as fast as he could to get to the store where he the frog and crazy doctor was, in hopes of saving his 4 year old sister. He peeked in and saw Animo picking supplies from the shelves. "He's trashing the mall to go shopping?" Lincoln questioned. At the corner of his eye, he saw Lisa hiding discreetly from the frog's view. She was transfixed by its appearance. "Psst! Lisa." he whispered. Thankfully, the genius heard him and he beckoned her to come over to him, which she obeyed. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Fret not brother, I do not appear to sustain any injuries." Lisa reassured him. "Though I am somewhat unnerved by this unprecedented incident, it has caused a jumpstart in my anxiety level."

"Yeah, it's a new thing called fear." he deadpanned.

"Lincoln! Lisa!" they turned and saw Lana, who was carrying a hamster and there was a bird on her shoulder. "Are you guys alright?!"

"We're fine Lans, just-wait a minute, what's with the animals?" he pointed to them.

The child handygirl put her arms up in defense. "Hey, I wasn't gonna leave them behind! Now what's going-" she saw the gigantic amphibian. "Woah! Look at the size of that frog!" she marveled in childlike wonder. "I want Hops to be just like that!"

"Lana, stay quiet!" Lincoln told her sternly. Unfortunately for them, the tomboy's shouting got the frog's attention and it shot out it's elongated tongue that forced Lincoln to push his sisters out of harm's way. But by tackling Lana, the two animals were out of her grasp.

Animo turned and saw them and grinning, he activated the Transmodulator that struck the hamster and bird, making them go through the same mutation the frog went through. Soon enough, they too grew to humungous size and were now under the doctor's control. The three Louds back up in fright as the two now mutated beast stood with their new master. "Behold, children!" he dramatically presented himself. "Behold the genius of Dr. Animo! With my pets reaching their full potential, nothing can stop me from getting what I deserve, mark my words! Today, I will make history, or rather, Pre-history!"

Lincoln looked to the watch, but saw that it was still in recharge mode. _'Dang it! I must have wasted too much time in the junkyard!"_

He was afraid that without one of the aliens to help out, nothing could save him or his sisters. However, luck seemed to be on his side as the frog didn't attack them. Instead, it jumped through the ceiling, creating a hole and was followed by its mutated brethren. "Spread the warning, children!" Animo told them. "Let the world know that the animals shall once again have free reign over the land!" he and his pets disappeared from sight, leaving three shell shocked Louds.

"Girls." he addressed them. "We're going home. Now."

* * *

Once the three of them made it back to their house, they were immediately bombarded with concern from their parents and other siblings. The events that transpired at the mall quickly gain the attention of the local media, and they remembered that those three were going there beforehand, Rita was nearly hyperventilating from intense worry over her babies.

"Oh good lord! Are you all okay?!" she fretted as she hugged all of them.

"We're fine mom." Lincoln answered. "A little scared, but alright."

"We saw everything from that TV." Luan said. "Did you see the size of that frog. I bet it was hopping mad. Haha, get it?"

Lynn face palmed with an aggravated sigh. "Luan, don't. Just don't."

Inside Lincoln's pocket, his phone buzzed. Taking it out, he saw that Clyde was calling him. Seeing his family were too busy with checking over the sisters, he quietly sneaked up to his room and made sure no one was eavesdropping this time. "Clyde, what is it?" he spoke into the phone in a hushed voice.

 _"Do you know about the giant frog that attacked the mall?!"_

"Know it? I just lived through it." Lincoln told him. "Some creepy dude with an antennae helmet turned a few animals super-sized. Nearly got me, Lisa, and Lana."

 _"Well, what are you gonna do about it?"_

The Omnitrix bearer narrowed his eyes as he thought about it. Whoever this guy was, the fact that he nearly hurt his sisters and his friend was a huge mistake on his part, he also knew that this Dr. Animo has sinister intentions in mind with his mutant pets, and someone had to do something to stop him before more people get hurt, however they can. "I'll tell ya what I'm gonna do pal. I'm gonna hunt him down, and stop him." he hung up as he thought about how to go about his plan. First thing that came to mind is to dig up any info on this Animo, he had no idea who this clown was, but he did know someone with all the knowledge in the world. He went over to Lisa's room and saw her reading a book.

"Lisa, I need you to do something real quick." he told her urgently.

"Depends on what you want." she replied.

"Do you have any info on that creep from the mall. I mean, you're probably super curious on how he turned that hamster and bird into monsters. Don't you wanna figure it out?" he asked her.

Lisa tossed the book away with a smile. "Finally. I was waiting for someone to ask, follow me." she gestured him to see her computer. "Now, there was something about the stranger's name, Animo, that seemed familiar, almost like I've heard it before. So, I did an extensive search on any information about him and observe what I uncovered." she showed an article about Animo, who looked more normal than he did when they first saw him. "Dr. Aloysius James Animo. Approximately, five years ago, he was a promising researcher in veterinary science, coming up with intriguing theories on mutations and evolution. However, he was kicked out of the science community when it was revealed that he was conducting genetic experiments involving forcibly mutating animals."

"Hence the giant animals." Lincoln said in realization.

Lisa nodded. "Precisely. Not only was he expelled, but due to the nature of his research, he lost the award to Dr. Kelly. After that, it was said that he was driven mad and fell off the face of the Earth. Until now, that is."

"You said earlier that Kelly was coming to Riyal Woods." he recalled.

"That I did." Lisa grew concerned. "It appears that Dr. Kelly might be in for a rude welcoming. Hopefully, Animo can be stopped before that could happen."

 _'I'll make sure of it.'_ he internally thought to himself.

* * *

A few hours later, Lincoln told his parents that he was heading over to hang out with Clyde at Gus' Games and Grub, when in reality, he was meeting him to search the skies for any sign of Animo. The two boys planned meet up and walk into the city part of Royal Woods, to begin their search, Lincoln spent a few minutes and so far, he saw nothing. Hearing some panting, he tuned and saw his best friend run up to him, sweating like a storm.

"Sorry...I'm...late..." Clyde panted. "It's...a long walk...from...home..."

"At least you're here." Lincoln patted his friend's back. A large shadow loomed over them, making them look up in shock over the huge bird that belonged to Animo. "There it is, come on!" the two boys ran after the bird, but it's enhanced speed and flight made it hard for them to keep up. Eventually, it disappeared from sight. Lincoln stopped, followed by Clyde who was sweating even more than before. "Dang it, we lost it. I would go alien, but I don't wanna risk draining the watch."

"Then we're gonna have to think of where Animo might be." Clyde told him. "Or we may be looking at Royal Woods B.C."

At that analogy, Lincoln started to think. The scientist seemed to be obsessed with animals, and from his performance at the mall, he seemed to be interested in making this world into the era before recorded human history. And he knew just the place where it was rich in such a subject. "I know where he's going." he said.

Eventually, they arrived at the Royal Woods Museum of Archaeology. A place filled with the remains of animals that have long since been extinct, Lincoln looked down and saw feather that was too big to belong to any normal bird and picked it up. "We're definitely on the right track." he said.

"Good thinking Linc." Clyde complimented with an impressed smile.

"Thanks. Now let's go." Lincoln and his friend went into the museum and saw unconscious guards that were on duty. They walked quietly heard the sound of tinkering. Dr. Animo was just nearby, making some new adjustments to his Transmodulator.

"Oh Aloysius, you have done it again." the madman grinned evilly. "If only those fools could see that you're research may not have been morally humane, but sometimes, it pays to cross some lines. With these new modifications, I have finally achieved phase 2, the reanimation dormant cells. In other words, breathing life into that which has been long since deceased." he activated his device, and aimed it at the lifeless husk of a Wooly Mammoth. Much to the shock and horror to the boys, the creature was re-animated back to the living world. "HAHA! Oh, wait until you get a load of this Kelly!" Animo cackled.

Clyde's teeth were chattering in fear. "Dude, he brought that thing back to life!"

"You know, Lucy would love this in some way." Lincoln commented. Turning serious, he activated the now fully charged watch. "It's Hero Time!" he chose a new icon and pressed down on the core and the Omni wave covered his entire being as a new transformation occurred. He felt his muscle mass begin to grow bigger and he fantastically grew much taller than he was before, well developed muscled began to form and his skin turned red. An extra par of arms grew out from under his main ones. Once the green light died down, Clyde looked up at shock over Lincoln's new form. He stood at 12 feet tall with red skin and a body that would make bodybuilders green with envy, his hair was black with a ponytail. On all four of his hands were black fingerless gloves with gold wristbands, same with the ankles. Around his waist was another band and across his chest were two golden sashes, with the symbol located on the chest and now wore black pants.

"Woah." the new Lincoln breathed in awe of his new form. "Check me out." he flexed his new muscles. "Oh yeah, I am gonna have lots of fun with this."

Animo saw the green light and yelled out. "Who goes there?! Show yourself!" to his shock, the hulking alien came into view. "Well, this was unexpected."

"Name's..." the alien thought for a second. "Four Arms. And I know what you're planning to do with your overgrown science experiments Animo, and you're crazier than I thought if you think I'm not gonna stop you." he punched his lower right fist to his right one. "So you might wanna give up right about now, unless you want to be pounded into submission four times over."

Dr. Animo wasn't deterred by these threats. "I don't care who or what you are!" he scowled. "Nothing will keep me from claiming what rightfully deserves to be mine!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know about the whole award thing." Four Arms rolled all four of his eyes. "But dude, that doesn't justify you going as far as to hurt people to get it. Take it from someone who knows, it's not worth it." he mind briefly went back to a past memory that filled him with a little guilt, but focused at the task at hand.

Despite this, Animo was still set on his goal. "I don't have time to listen to your preaching nonsense!" he scowled. "For the action of interfering with my work, I will let my new pet make an example of you!" at that, the Mammoth charged at the four armed fighter.

"Alright then. Let's wrestle!" Four Arms charged as well and with his incredible strength, grabbed the formerly extinct animal by the trunk and turned it over, making it fall. He was holding it in a strong hold to prevent it from moving, but was carried away by the giant bird, h grabbed hold of the legs and threw it down at the ground with extreme force, incapacitating it for the moment "Guess those sparring matches with Lynn paid off." Seeing that this new enemy was more tenacious then he thought, Animo though always had a plan, and ran for the nearby Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton. His device re-animated it, the muscle and skin tissue was instantly brought back and now he had the king of the dinosaurs at his control. It lets out a roar that gained Four Arms' attention, which was the perfect distraction for the Mammoth to smash him across the room, hitting the wall. Gritting his teeth, Four Arms charged once again and sent a series of punches at the Mammoth's face, but the beast hoisted him up by the horns and threw him into another skeleton, destroying it. "Okay, you know what?! The gloves are off!" he got back up and grabbed its trunk and spun himself and the beast around rapidly, with a mighty swing, the Mammoth was thrown over to the wall, getting buried by the debris that fell afterwards. Four Arms looked a little nauseated from the spin. "Ugh...might wanna hold back on my strength a little." now there was the hamster. Unlike the Mammoth, this monster was easy to beat, for it wasn't strong enough to take down the might of Four Arms for the super strong alien flipped it over ad was knocked out by landing on the head.

The T-Rec swung its tail, striking Four Arms aside. Animo rode on top and addressed the alien. "As much as I wish I could see my pets destroy you, I have important business to attend to! Hyah!" he kicked the neck to make the dinosaur run through the wall and go the city. The mutant bird flew and grabbed Clyde, before he could blink.

"AHH! Lincoln!"

"Clyde!" Four Arms widened his eyes in alarm. He leapt to an impressive height to grab onto the bird, making it turn to him. "Put my friend down, chicken wing!" the bird flew around erratically, which was enough to shake Four Arms off. The alien hero fell down until he crashed on the street, leaving a crater. A red flash was seen, and Four Arms was back to Lincoln.

He groggily got up and saw his best friend get taken. "No!" he gasped in horror. As he got back up, he ran to the streets and saw the bird land on top of a building. He activated the watch once more and chose another new form. Another Omni wave changed him into another new form. His skin started to turn dark green and his fingers turned razor sharp and regressed into insect like appendages. From the two sides of his face, four tentacles with orange eyes sprouted and black gunk formed around his face. Four insect like flat legs grew from his sides and a sharp torn tail formed in the back. Two thin green wings grew. He now had an insect body, with a green color. The symbol was now on the front of his face.

"Oooh. Another new one, guess that makes six." he noted until he took a whiff of himself. "Ugh." he cringed. "I smell like Lily after stinking up 10 diapers." focusing back on his friend, he took flight and flew up high on the tower. "At least this one can fly." The McBride boy was left slipping from the grasp of the bird and soon fell down making him scream out in fright. But just in the nick of time, Lincoln in his new form saved him. "I got ya pal."

"Lincoln? You're like a butterfly." Clyde commented.

"More like a Stinkfly." the newly christened Stinkfly contradicted.

One sniff and Clyde knew what he meant. "Ew, no kidding. Nevertheless, thanks for the save." he gasped as he saw the bird fly after them. "Incoming!"

"Hang on bro!" Stinkfly said as he tried to outmaneuver the beast. He raised Clyde up to the top and the two flying creatures went in many directions to try and defeat the other. The bird raised a talon to nab Clyde, but the bug alien dodged. "Woah! Take it easy with the nails there Polly!" The chase continued and they both increased their speed, making Clyde go green.

"Oh jeez, I think I'm gonna puke." the glasses wearing boy clutched his stomach.

"At least don't spew on me." Stinkfly told him. "I already stink enough as it is." the bird continued to try and capture its prey, with no intent of slowing down. "I can't shake feather brain. Clyde old buddy, you're gonna have to trust me on this one." he said in a serious tone.

Clyde raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Just hang on." he grabbed his friend by the arms and flew close to a rooftop. "On my signal. Jump!" Clyde did so and landed safely on the roof. The bird made an attempt to capture its former hostage again, but Stinkfly shot goo from his eyes that hit the bird's eyes. With it blinded, the bug alien attacked from above and shoved it to the ground, defeating it."

He flew up to check on Clyde who said. "I'm fine. Stop Animo!"

Stinkfly obliged and flew at the direction where Animo and the dinosaur left.

* * *

Once Kelly arrived at Royal Woods, he made plans to check up on the Michigan branch of Kelly Industries. He was currently showing the place off to a few investors.

"And finally, we have my Verities Award." they stopped at his trophy shelf. "Of course, I considered it an honor to be nominated in the first place with a distinguished group of scientists. His musings were cut off as Animo and his Dino crashed through the building, making the investors run away but Kelly stayed as he recognized the man on top. "Aloysius?!" he exclaimed. It had been so long since he last seen him.

"Kelly, I believe you have something that belongs to me!" he hopped down and punched the other scientist out of anger. He took the golden trophy with a prideful. "I'd like to thank the committee for this highest honor!" he grinned maniacally. He hopped back up to the top of his pet and guided it to eat the other scientist. But Stinkfly swooped in and hits it, making it attack the hero with the tail which made Stinkfly land painfully on the ground. "I didn't know being a hero meant fighting extinct species." he rubbed his head.

"Somebody help me!" he saw Kelly get lifted up by the teeth of the Dino, he was thrown into the air and the beast opened its mouth to devour him, but Stinkfly saved him and placed him safe on the ground.

"Come over here and meet you end, you little pest!" Animo yelled.

"But it's not my doctor's appointment yet." Stinkfly smirked. "And for future reference, it's Stinkfly and I'm gonna kick your lizard's tail!" he flew close to the beast and shot more goo all over the face making it go out of control. The bug alien punched Animo that made him accidentally let go of the award. "NO!" Animo scream as he saw the object he longed for break apart once it hit the ground. With him distracted, Stinkfly grabbed the device from the headgear and flew away with it much to the scientist's dismay. "My Transmodulator!"

Stinkfly threw it to the ground which sent a shockwave that reversed the effects it made on all the animals created by it. The dinosaur slowly disintegrated back into its skeletal remains and the others reverted back to normal. Animo fell with a grunt as he landed. Stinkfly went to see Kelly was okay. "Are you alright, sir?"

Though he was perplexed by his savor's appearance, this creature still saved his life, and that was good enough. "I am, thanks to you. Whatever you are." he looked to the fallen doctor with pity. "Poor Aloysius. Maybe if he had used his intellect more responsibly, he wouldn't have had to go through such lengths."

"Sorry about the award." the bug hero looked to its broken pieces.

Kelly just shrugged. "It's just an object. Nothing more important than a human life."

Stinkfly smiled. "True that."

* * *

After taking Clyde home and dismantling Animo's device, Stinkly flew back to his house just in time as the watch timed out. When morning came, Lincoln and his sisters watched a news report depicting Animo getting arrested.

 _"Let me go!"_ he shouted at the officers. _"I deserved that award! I've got it coming to me! I want it!"_

A news anchorwoman appeared on the screen. _"When asked on how he was saved, Dr. Kelly had this to say."_

Kelly appeared.

 _"He was some sort of green insect creature. If it weren't for him, I don't think I could be standing here right now, he was like some sort of superhero."_

 _"Footage taken from his complex proved his claims, along with this exclusive video from the museum depicted this."_ a video showing Four Arms duking out with the Mammoth appeared. _"In addition to the Diamond like creature that appeared a few nights before, it seems like Royal Woods is getting its own superheroes."_

The siblings murmured in intrigue over this. "Did you see that red guy?!" Lynn shook with excitement. "He totally take the wrestlers on TV! I be the bench pressed like 100 tons!"

"Yeah, but what about that bug guy!" Lana said. "He looked totally gross, I love it!"

Lincoln saw how much his sisters seemed to admire the heroic acts his alien alter egos did, same with the rest of Royal Woods. Maybe he can do some good with the watch.

 _'Lincoln Loud. Alien transforming superhero.'_ he mused internally. _'Has a nice ring to it."_

* * *

 **Tell me what you think!**


	3. What Lurks Below

**-Enemies From Underneath**

 **Episode 3 of Linc 10.**

 **Previously of Linc 10: Bearer Of The Omnitrix: After finding the alien watch that fell from beyond the stars and gaining access to multiple alien forms, Lincoln contemplated on what he should do with such a device. Then Royal Woods was threatened by the sinister machinations of the maniacal Dr. Animo, after turning into 2 new aliens, Lincoln stopped him in his mad quest to get back at an old colleague. With his heroic actions being noticed by the citizens, it looks like people are beginning to see him as a hero and decided that it wouldn't be too bad to try the hero stint out...**

 **List of aliens unlocked so far...**

 **Heatblast**

 **Wildmutt**

 **Diamondhead**

 **XLR8**

 **Four Arms**

 **Stinkfly**

 **Now all there's left are the last 4 aliens to compete the first 10 set of aliens, I think some of you will like what I have in store in this chapter. Instead, Once the classic 10 are out of the way, I want the 11th alien tp be someone from the original series that isn't Cannonbolt, Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, and Omniverse. Which one? I want to see your guesses on it.. Something else I want to talk about is original chapters, after this chapter, 4 and 5, I want ideas on original stuff. Chapter 5 will be one of my favorite episodes, Hunted.**

 **Don't forget to Fave, Follow, and leave Reviews.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

In the middle of the night, a few guards were transporting some bags full of money onto the back of an armored vehicle, they were on their way to haul all this money over to the bank, for the most part it was a simple task, they didn't encounter any complications so it was safe to say that nothing could happen, at least for now. "Okay Jack, that's the lest of it." a guard said to the driver who gave a thumbs up in response. Jack started the engine as soon as the guard got on the vehicle and they took off, it was a nice quiet drive, Jack turned the radio on and hummed to the tune of the music, of course if he had checked his mirrors, he would have seen that he was being tailed. There was a motorcyclist in a black uniform, whose eyes were dead set on the vehicle full of cash, he looked to the right and nodded to a fellow motorcyclist along with another on the left.

This gave both of them the signal to act on their plan. The third cyclist rode near the side of the vehicle and placed a disk like object on it, the same action was performed by the second one. Both pulled back and waited for their leader to do his part of the mission, he took out a remote and pressed the red button that made the disks start beeping and in a flash, caused a seismic wave that flipped the vehicle over, the guard and driver inside were unprepared by this and were knocked unconscious once they landed with an intense crash.

All three motorcyclists stopped and got off their bikes. "Car's down for the count. Let's move in boys." the leader spoke into a Walkie Talkie and soon more motorcycles rode in, all wearing black. The leader motioned four of them to dismount and approach the downed vehicle, one of them held a bag that contained a hi-teck saw-like device. It was placed carefully on the backside of the vehicle and once it turned on started to slice through the hard steel of it making the leader smirk in satisfaction. Unknown to them, someone was watching as they committed this crime, hiding in a dark alleyway was none other than Lincoln Loud.

He was walking home from spending the duration of the night buying Ace Savvy comics that just got released until he heard the sound of a car crashing and grew concerned. Seeing them start to unload the money woke up his instinct to go hero and stop them from making off with all that dough. He activated the Omnitrix and dialed the wheel to search for his intended icon, stopping on one he grew to be fond of, the white haired boy slammed down on the core and a green flash filled the alleyway.

As the robbers pulled the last if the bags out, he was stopped by a diamond prison emerging from the ground, trapping him, making the rest of the crooks pull out their weapons, aiming at every direction. "Who's there?!" the leader yelled out as they huddled together. Then, a large crystal was shot out from an alley and struck the leader.

"Ha! Bullseye!" a deep voice cheered. The gang of thieves readied themselves for their new enemy and were in for quite a shock when it turned to be none other than Diamondhead. "What's up fellas? Hope you don't mind me interrupting." they all pulled out their guns and aimed them at the alien, they saw him on the news but didn't think they would run into one of them. Acting on pure instinct, they open fired on him, but his diamond exterior was too hard for the bullets to damage. "Heh, cute." forming his two hands into shards, he moved in to attack one by disarming him and formed a diamond hammer that knocked him out. "Word of advice, don't fire on a dude made out of hard crystal, you won't like the results." one thief screamed as he tried to attack from behind, but Diamondhead raised his fist so that the thug's face could collide with it once he was close enough. "Good night."

Taking as much money as he can, the leader got up and used one of the bikes to make a hasty getaway, which Diamondhead noticed, he punched his fist to the ground, making a diamond pillar sprout right in front of the thief, making him crash. The sound of sirens could be heard, meaning it was now time to spliy the scene. "See ya in jail guys." Diamondhead said as he went off.

* * *

When morning came, Lincoln woke up with an exhausted yawn. Going hero last night at such a late hour made him a bit groggy, but that's nothing a little breakfast won't fix. As he got out of his room, he noticed that there wasn't a line for the bathroom like all other mornings, being curious, he walked downstairs and saw his sisters sitting on the couch watching the TV. "Hey guys, I saw no one trying to get to the bathroom first, what's up?"

Luna patted a seat next to her for him to sit in. "Check it bro, one of those wicked alien dudes showed up last night." she pointed at the news report that detailed Diamondhead stopping the robbery from last night.

"This time, it was that shiny crystal one." Lola added with sparkling eyes. "He's so pretty.

Lincoln was a little embarrassed at the thought of being called pretty, especially by one of his sisters. "Yeah, but what about the one with totally ripped out body?" Lynn countered, referring to Four Arms. "Guy looked he could take all of the wrestlers in the world!" As the sisters talked about which alien was the best, Lincoln couldn't help but think. Ever since his official debut after defeating Dr. Animo, the citizens of Royal Woods have really started to admire his alien forms, he knew that since he kept his watch a secret, it technically wasn't really _him_ that they were looking up to, but his point still stands.

"I'm gonna go get some breakfast, tell me more later." he told them as he walked to the kitchen and saw his father reading the paper. "Morning dad."

"Hey there sport." Lynn Sr. greeted with a smile. "Take a look at this." he showed his only son a page. "There's an auto show that's gonna be hosted later today. Maybe when the women are too buys, us guys can go and check it out. What do you say?" the patriarch of the Louds asked, hopeful that he would say yes.

Lincoln scratched his nape nervously. "Gee, that sounds fun dad, but, I'm not really up to go to somewhere like that." he told him. Seeing his father's downcast expression, he quickly explained himself. "It's not that I don't want to spend time with you it's just that I'm just not into cars, why don't you ask Lana?" he suggested. "She's pretty good with mechanics."

"No, it's alright, son." Lynn Sr. told him with a weak smile. "I was just asking and it's okay if you don't wanna go, completely fine by me." he reassured him, laughing. "Go and do what you want." he told him, he watched as his only son walked away. Once he was out of earshot, the father of the Louds' smile dropped and now had a depressed expression.

"Another bust?" he turned and saw his wife.

"Third time this week, Rita." her husband told her. He's been trying to get Lincoln to do stuff with him, but he always politely declined, Lynn Sr. tried to make it seem like he didn't mind, but inside he was truly saddened. "I don't know what's wrong honey, Lincoln and I are the only men in this whole entire house and we barely ever actually do some quality father-son bonding. Every idea I suggest to him and he always says no. Am I trying to hard? Is that it? Do I have to rein it in a little?"

Rita sat next to him and laid an arm on his shoulder. "Remember what Lincoln said sweetie, it's not that Lincoln just doesn't want to spend time with you. All of your suggestions relate to something you have in common with the girls. You and Lynn both like to watch the sports channel, you're the only person here who actually finds Luan's jokes funny, you like the same music as Luna, and you taught Lana how to fix a car. Despite being you're only son, you and Lincoln don't really have anything in common for you to bond over."

At that conclusion, Lynn Sr.'s eyes slowly started to widen in realization. "You're right." he face palmed. "Dang it, I spent so many years raising daughters before and after Lincoln was born that I never got the chance to try to connect with Lincoln over what we may have in common with each other." he laid his face on the table. "I don't know what to do."

His wife continued to lend her support by giving him an idea. "It doesn't have to be something that you and Lincoln have in common dear. It can be something that only a father and son can bond over.

Lynn Sr. desperately tried to think of something like that, he only bonded with the girls due to him having common interests with them, but he needed to find something that is traditional for a father to connect with his son over and he managed to find the perfect idea. It was foolproof, it would have only the two of them, and it was a guarantee that they would finally have some quality time together. "I know just what to do! But first, I need to call your dad." he told his wife, making her curious.

* * *

With the rest of the senior citizens engaged in a game of bingo, and Albert politely asking to be excluded, saying that he had important business to attend to, that particular business being talking with an old friend from a long past. He was inside his room with the binds closed so that no one would see him taking in to a circular device with an hourglass symbol on it. "So that's the story, Patelliday. In the most recent weeks, my badge has been picking up DNA signatures of a Pyronite, Petrosapien, Vulpimancer, Kineceleran, Tetramand, and Lepidopterran. Only the strangest thing is that they keep on disappearing and reappearing at random."

 _"You said that they've been helping humans in your town, Al?"_

"Pretty much. There have been tons of news stories about how they've been stopping all sorts of crimes around Royal Woods." Albert replied. "Heck, just last night, that Petrosapien stopped an attempted robbery." the elder man scratched his chin in thought. "Last I checked, there aren't many of them left, considering what happened to Petropia." he noted with a downcast expression before collecting himself. "Still, they each bore the same Galvan symbol our badges have. New recruits sent to Earth?"

 _"Negatory, old buddy. You and I both know that there hasn't been that much alien activity on your home world since the glory days to warrant any plumbers being sent there, you can also rule out any Plumbers' kids too, we would have gotten word from the parents. Of course now that I think about it, this may have something to do with what happened not that long ago."_

Okay, now Albert was curious. "What are you talking about?"

 _"Well, this is extremely confidential information, I am ordered not to give too much information. But, consider yourself a special exception, partner. About a few of your Earth days ago, one of our independent agents was sent to collect a special device from Galvan Prime, you might find this surprising, but it was supposed to be transported to Earth for safekeeping, but the ship was ambushed. We don't know the status of the pilot, but we have confirmation that device is somewhere on your planet."_

Albert took all this in, when he watched the news on that alien robot attack on the forest, and instantly recognized the drones, because he had dealt with them many times before in his prime. "Look, you don't have to hide it, I know who owns those drones. It's _him_ isn't it?" Alber stated with narrowed eyes as old memories began to play out in his minds, they were memories he thought he would never have to recall for the rest of his life even if it depended on it, for he never imagined seeing him again..

 _"Now we don't know that for sure."_

"Come on, who else could it be? If I could maybe make a quick stop at Mt. Rushmore and-" he was cut off by his friend.

 _"Before you even think of taking matters into your own hands, let me stop you right there."_ his old friend cut him off in a stern tone before sighing with a more soft expression. _"Look, you're retired remember? And what would that daughter and your grandkids think of you just going about up to shenanigans a fella your age shouldn't be doing. I know the old plumber in you wants to protect your planet from the likes of him, but I'm telling you as your oldest friend to stay out of it."_

Albert looked down with an expression of dismay, he wanted to retort that he still got the right stuff to go at it one last time but even he wasn't arrogant enough to not agree with Patteliday, he knew full well that he wasn't the young and brash Plumber agent that he once was many years ago, time had taken its toll on him, he wasn't the same dashing plumber adventurer he was years ago, he was now a bingo playing old guy with a loving daughter and great grandkids who would be devastated if anything were to happen to him. Dang it all, his planet could be threatened by one of the biggest monsters in the whole galaxy and he can't do anything to stop him.

Sometimes, being retired was a pain.

"At least keep me posted with any updates, you know how much I hate being kept in the dark." Albert said, deciding that for now, he won't get too involved with the alien activity happening all over town.

 _"You have my word. Until next time, old friend."_

Albert leaned back with a tired sigh. "And here I thought things ended all those years ago at Rushmore, but nope, you just had to show your ugly squid face back on Earth." he narrowed his eyes. "Vilgax."

* * *

The lake near Royal Woods was the perfect place for anyone opting to go fishing, the wide open space of water was filled with enough fish to feed an entire football team, making it the perfect place for a father to take his only son out for some quality time bonding, Vanzilla pulled up and out came Lynn Sr. with Lincoln both of whom were clad in fishing gear. "Alright son, here we are. Just breathe in that breath of fresh air, perfect time for some quality guy time with your old man, eh?"

"Uh, yeah sure, whatever you say dad." Lincoln shrugged. In all honesty, he wasn't so sure if it was right for him to accept his father's offer to go on a little fishing outing, he was about to go and maybe do some experimenting with his aliens but seeing his father's begging expression tugged at his heart and he didn't want to seem like a horrible son. Still, that didn't mean that it wasn't so dang boring looking at close glance, there were other kids who were most likely forced to come to here like he did and of course they seemed less thrilled about this as they did. "So, is there like a boat for us or something? I don't really know how this works."

Lynn Sr. playfully tousled his son's hair. "Don't worry kiddo, I've nabbed dozens of big ones when I was a kid and with any luck, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Now follow me." he guided his boy to the docks where a small boat was waiting for them, on it was their family name spelled out in big capital letters. "I give you, the S.S. Loud, named it myself. I kept this baby handy just in case somethin like this happened, pretty impressive, am I right champ?" he nudged the kid.

"It's... something." easily the least offensive thing to say about it.

"It is, isn't it?" he placed a cooler and his fishing rod on it. "Now, let's get-"

They were interrupted by the sound of a loud honking noise, they and a few others turned and saw a house boat that was out on the waters dive in, splashing some water at those that were on land. The looks of the craft weren't exactly great, it was particularly damp and looked pretty run down with various crates on it, its captain was an old fisherman with a lazy eye and somewhat manic look on his face along with a brown cap on top of his balding head. "Hold it right there, ye land lovers!" he told them in harsh tone. "I won't have any of ye interferin' with my hunt, do yourselves a favor and stick with all your tall buildings and such!"

"Excuse me?" Lynn Sr. said, slightly offended. "But what right do you have to prevent us from fishing here?" he asked, speaking for himself, his son and all the other fathers and sons at the lake.

"This be my hunting ground, for the name's Captain Shaw and I'd rather let me boat sink to Davey Jones' Locker if I'm letting you all interfere with my hunt, for there be the ultimate prize that dwells from down below, and I've spent the better half of me life hunting for that beast for those who catch it will be remembered down in history so if you don't want to also be met with my harpoon along with the beast, then leave all of ya, before I lose all me patience with you! No one will catch the Krakken but me!" Captain Shaw growled dangerously before he sped off in his house boat without a second thought. "But

Lincoln turned to his dad. "What was he talking about?"

"Just some old story, son. See, when I was a kind people used to spread these rumors about some lake monster that always attacked fishing boats but those were just stories to keep kids from doing any late night swimming." Lynn Sr. reassured him as they both got on the boat. "But we're not gonna let some nut job and his made up stories. Now come on, the fish are waiting." he started the engine and the boat went off to the middle of the lake where they'd spend the rest of the day trying to nab a bite, but also so that they could try and see if they could perhaps find something to bond over, for the first few minutes neither have said that much to each other which got awkward pretty fast. Not wanting this fishing trip to be for nothing, Lynn Sr. spoke up first. "So, you've been doing well in school?"

Lame.

"Yeah, sure." Lincoln answered, bored out of his mind.

Okay, so this isn't going as well as the family patriarch had initially hoped, his wife makes connecting with his son way more easy than it looks and for him, that's just sad.

But then, Lincoln noticed something off the corner of his eye, it was something sticking out of the water and it was coming in fast. "Um, dad, what's that?" he pointed for his dad to see. It was a fin but it then ducked down, and whatever it was it created a few rocky waves that moved the boat around causing the two Loud men to fall overboard. "Woah!" Lincoln swam in the water and watched as from the seas, a large beast came out, it was bipedal and had two tentacles sticking out of its mouth and gave out a loud roar that made those at the docks panic. Someone's got rescue those people, Lincoln dived down and activated the watcha to transform into a new alien.

With this transformation, he felt his body become more sleeker in weight and could feel a wingspan forming under his arms and a tail stretching out, when it was over, a red blur flew out, it was a tall red creature with two black lightning bolt stripes coming down from his shoulders to the Omnitrix symbol on its chest, yellow horns were atop his head and gills on his lower body along with a yellow wingspan underneath his arms. "Woah, so this must be alien number 7." he saw the beast continue its rampage. "Alright, let's see what you can do!" he flew at speeds that was faster than fighter jets and instinctively shot two green laser beams from his eyes that struck the beast's head, and another blast from. "Laser ray beams. Awesome! I was gonna go with Four Arms, but this works just fine!" he sped at the beast at high speeds and the impact was strong enough to push it back into the waters, it tried to smack Lincoln away but he outmaneuvered each blow. "Too fast for ya, fast like a jet and shooting my rays. Hey, that's good, just call me Jetray!"

Jetray then noticed that there were some innocent people still in the water, so he dived down and flew them to the shore for safety, now that there wasn't anything distracting him, he was free to take care of the beast which tried to swim away, but he wasn't having any of it, it gave chase and saw that the beast was targeting a group of boats, and there was one with a unique symbol. It picked it up and observed it closely, as if it were looking for something but the Jetray flew in with neuroshock blast to attack it with which made it let go, but the beast was intent on getting that boat and made a go for it but continued attacks made it force to retreat.

The transformed kid landed down at the targeted vessel and addressed the captain who was an adult male with red hair and beard who along with his crew wearing blue jumpsuits. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're-" but then, the beast made a surprise comeback and went for the crates that were on the boat. "Don't let it get those!" the captain went to grab the crates in a vain attempt to stop the beast. Jetray decided to assist by blasting at its tentacles making it let go, more laser blasts made it cut its losses and flee for the time being.

"Well, that take care of that." Jetray said as he landed.

"Thanks for the hand, and the lasers." the captain said.

Jetray looked at the crates then at the captain. "What's so important in those that it made that thing go after you and made you risk your life for it?"

The captain averted his gaze. "My name is Jonah Melville, founder of the Friends of Fish organization, we were out here conducting environmental research and as far as I can tell you, those are just our...lunch. Yeah, that's it."

Jetray raised a skeptic eyebrow. "All this trouble for some sandwiches?"

Before any of them could react, the creature's tentacle went out and grabbed the crate, taking it into the lake, Jetray was ready to stop it until he heard a familiar beeping. "Uh oh, gotta fly!" he took the skies and went into the waters, in a bright red flash, he was back to being human. He emerged from the waters and panted a little to get the adrenaline out. "Whoo! Well that happened."

"Lincoln!" the kid was then hugged out of relief by his father. "I'm so glad you're safe, I was afraid you might have been snatched up by that...thing! Are you okay?! Any scratches?"

"Dad, it's okay, I'm perfectly fine." he reassured him. "What about you?"

"Better than the boat." Lynn Sr. sighed as he saw the shredded remains of their small vessel.

"I warned ye!" the house boat of Saltwater Phil pulled up and he pointed his hook hand at all of them. "The Krakken don't like land dwellers invading her home turf and you all nearly lost your lives because of it! Next time, heed the warnings of one who knows just how treacherous these waters are and with knowledge, I'll capture her and make her pay for taking me arm so many years ago, and if any of ye dare to interfere again then you can expect no mercy from me!" the wild minded fisherman drove off with the intent of hunting that giant lake monster down and getting the glory of claiming it as his own personal trophy.

Lincoln looked to the waters with a narrowed look. "Okay, so the insane water hermit turned out to be telling the truth." he turned to his father. "We should probably head home, the girls would want to hear about this."

* * *

 _"Lake Monster Alert! "_ the news broadcast showed the newest segment covering the most recent monster sighting that just happened at the lake of Royal Woods. _"Earlier today, Royal Woods was shocked to its core when a rabid lake monster started rampaging near the docks, if not for the intervention of another superhero creature, there's no telling how many innocents would have gotten hurt. With this monster trekking from below the water depths, the lake has been closed off from the general public until its safe."_

It was all over the news, reports of the Krakken attacking the docks came fast and with the town-wide alert for everyone to stay out of the water it was a given to say that there won't be any fishing or swimming for a while, at least not until it was certain that the lake monster would be of no threat to anyone ever again. After going back to the house, both men of the Loud family were instantly swarmed by their concerned family, Rita had gone off to make sure their dad was okay while the sisters fretted over their brother. "OMG, Linky!" Are you like, alright?!" Leni frantically looked him over for any sign of injury but thankfully he was for the most part, okay.

"That thing's got everyone in town spooked, baby bro!" Luna said, also concerned.

"You weren't hurt, were you?" Lucy asked.

"Guys, please I'm alright." Lincoln reassured them. "Dad and I barely got a single scratch."

Lisa then wanted to ask him one certain question. "Elder brother, did you at least managed to see the other strange creature that was present during the incident? It looked like some sort of manta-like creature that was trying to stop the other beast from demolishing the docks in case you were wondering." she berated herself for not being there to secure DNA samples of both unique specimens.

"Literally not the time, Lisa." Lori chided her second youngest sister. "What matters is that both Lincoln and dad are okay."

"Kids, listen up." they all looked towards their parents as their father started his announcement. "Until further notice, no one is going anywhere near the lake, at least not until we can be sure no one's getting hurt there, and this may seem a little unfair, but your mother and I have to establish curfew, so that's why no one is permitted outside after 9 PM, is that clear?"

"Yes, dad."

"Good, now hurry up to your rooms, it's been a long day." as the siblings dispersed to head upstairs, but then stopped his son. "Lincoln, could you hang back a sec?"

"Something wrong, dad?"

Taking a deep sigh, Lynn Sr. kneeled down and put a hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "Son, I'm sorry about how things turned out during our fishing trip, if I'd known there was going to be something worse than a shark attack I would've just let you stay home and not go there in the first place." he hung his head in shame for inadvertently putting his only son in danger.

Lincoln reassured him with a smile. "Hey, it's alright dad. I mean, I don't think anyone could have expected an honest to goodness lake monster lurking in th waters, and there can be other times for us to bond and besides, I'm just glad you're alive." he hugged his father who returned it, they may not have bonded the way the patriarch intended but at least they could bond over the fact that they managed to survive and that was good enough for him. But something lingered in the boy's mind; that Krakken seemed entirely focused on that one boat...what was it? Friends of fish? The captain there said they they're lunch was in those crates but the way he said it, almost sounded like he didn't want anybody to know, not even the person that just saved him and his crew. Looks like he might have to do some digging, with a little help of course.

* * *

 _"Did you see how big it was?! Liam told me that his dad won't let him go out for nightly dives anymore, not only that but I think they're bringing the Coast Guard into this! Seriously, watching that giant monster on the TV was terrifying!"_

"Yeah, well try having to fight it up close, I had to bring out a new alien." after Lincoln retreated to his bedroom, he quickly called Clyde and they confided in with what they know so far about this whole Krakken business. "Now all I have to do is figure out a way to make sure it doesn't go crazy and attack the surface again."

 _"I don't know Lincoln, shouldn't we leave this to the professionals, like those Friends of Fish guys?"_

Lincoln would have said yes, but there was still a stinking suspicion he had against those guys and didn't want to take any chances so he was adamant in getting himself involved. "No offense to them, but I don't think any of them have the right firepower to stand up to the Krakken, but I do." he glanced to the Omnitrix. "Here's what we'll do, we tell our parents that we have a late night study session with the guys when we'll actually be investigating the waters to find it."

 _"...Fine, if you're sure. But how will we get in, they've closed off the waters from everyone in town."_

"Not everyone." Lincoln replied, recalling a certain crazy fisherman who would do anything to nab that Krakken and wouldn't take no for answer. "Meet me at the docks and I'll explain." ending the call, Lincoln waited until the time was right to leave his home, since it was only 7 he had plenty of time before the siblings' curfew kicked in, and made his way downstairs. "Mom, I'm heading out to meet the guys for a study session, hope that's alright!" he informed Rita who was in the kitchen.

"Okay honey, but remember your curfew!"

"I will!"

With that out of the way, Lincoln was free to roam the streets but felt a little guilty that he just lied to his own mother like that but had to remind herself that it was for the greater good, he had to be pretty sneaky if he was going in that lake and thankfully Clyde was right where he told him to be as they saw the vast blockade surround the lake. "Don't suppose Four Arms could maybe smash us a way in?" a stern silence was his answer. "Just asking. So how do you plan on getting us into the lake?"

"Look right there." Lincoln pointed to a familiar broken down boat where it's wacky but determined captain was preparing to venture off and hunt down his quarry and doesn't care who says he shouldn't do so. "Captain Shaw's the only one who's going into the lake, he's obsessed with capturing the Krakken and making a name for himself so if he play stowaway on his ship, we could get that much closer to it."

"And how do we sneak aboard?"

His best friend held up the watch and before the FoF guards keeping watch could blink they felt a sudden shift in the wind not noticing the blur and black blur that swiftly ran past them, what neither them nor Shaw knew was that XLR8 quickly made his way aboard the latter's ship along with his nerdy friend who looked a little green. "You know I really like turning into XLR8." he said with a grin as he turned bacl. "Makes being late for school or curfew and asking over-bearing big sisters for rides a thing of the past."

"At least take it slow next time you bring a passenger." Clyde said as he held his stomach.

"Nerve of those enviro-punks!" both stayed silent once they saw Shaw at the helm. "Shutting down my hunting grounds and ordering me to anchor down with the other land lubbers, nobody tells me where to sail." he then looked to the waters of which he is about to sail through to search for the beast that stalks all sea life below. "And I know you're out there somewhere Krakken, no one will stand in the way of me finding you and claiming the prize of the century so prepare yourself beast, you're skin will be decorating my ship soon enough." he hoisted the anchor allowing his vessel to set sail into the lake, not caring about a few FoF people trying in vain to stop him.

"So do we just wait for the Krakken to attack?" But then, Shaw started getting into a diving suit fit with an oxygen tank along with a spear gun that he'll no doubt use to try and catch the Krakken and he dived into the water to begin the hunt. "Or wait for him to do that."

Lincoln looked around and saw two more diving suits along with some extra gear and smirked.

* * *

So far there was no sign of the beast but Shaw wasn't so quick to give up so quickly and scoured each and every inch of the water to see any sign of his quarry, ignoring the passing sea life only interested in the more gigantic type of aquatic life and from the corner of his eye, he spotted something interesting it was the wreckage of an old ship, undoubtedly caused by the Krakken. He swam further to see if there was a trail that could lead him to the beast but instead he found something more interesting. It was some ort of round shell colored orange that looked as if it were hidden very carefully in this downed ship, but by what? He didn't notice that nearby were the two boys who sneaked into his ship and found themselves asking this same question as they gazed at the shell.

For Shaw, he then saw something above, it looked like another boat was near his and decided to halt his little hunt to see what the commotion was with the boys following suit. He saw that it looked like one of those fish lovers and climbed to his ship but was suddenly grabbed and thrown hard to the floor, he saw other divers with silver diving suits and strange hi-tech goggles. "Don't you know it's dangerous to go night diving at this hour, old man?" the leader snidely asked. "Unless of course you were with a friend."

Glaring at them, Shaw replied. "I work alone, don't have any friends."

"Really?" he dryly chuckled. "Hard to believe with that sparkling personality." they were ignorant of the kids peeking their head out to see.

"I don't know what you punks want but I haven't got anything worth stealing either."

"Ah, but you got us all wrong. We don't want to steal anything, we just want to get some information, like what did you see down there?!" he demanded, wanting to know if the old man saw it.

Shaw wasn't going to give these men the satisfaction so he lied. "Nothing, same as always."

Unfortunately for him, the diver didn't accept this answer and punched him across the face, knocking him out. "Well, I had to be sure." the diver took his goggle mask off to reveal himself to be the same Friend of Fish guy from before, Jonah which made Lincoln lightly gasp, he tried to use the watch but it was still in recharge mode. "Lock Captain Ahab here in the brig, find out if he knows anything else back at the cannery." Jonah readied a device. "We'll come back later to snag the rest of the eggs." he threw it to the ocean where it sank then threw a set of explosives to the captain's ship. "In the meantime, let's hope the old man has boat insurance." once the FoF boat left, the captain's boat exploded into pieces, the boys dived on into the water to avoid the debris falling on them, they resurfaced and watched them leave.

"Clyde, head back to the surface." Lincoln instructed once he saw that the watch was ready to work. "I'll deal with them." as his friend left, Lincoln selected Stinkfly as his intended alien but once the green light died down, he had transform into a different one. "What the? XLR8 again?" he hadn't able to turn into the same alien twice before. "Well, let's hope he's good on water."

* * *

With the captain locked up, Jonah along with the rest of his accomplices were free to roam the waters, it was sort of genius of them to close off the lake from the rest of the public, that way they could search for their own quarry with no distractions, Shaw was just a minor inconvenience at best he wasn't a genuine threat. "Hey, is that some fish?" one pointed to something in the distance, Jonah noticed that it was coming in very fast, faster than any speedboat or anything else in the planet, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw that it was one of those strange creatures that have been appearing every now and then in this town.

"Man the harpoons!" he ordered his men.

"Go ahead and try!" XLR8 challenged. "You can't touch something so fast even on water!" he proved his point once he expertly dodged each blaster fire then he spun his arms around to create two mini-tornadoes that blew them all away. "This is the part where you surrender and turn yourselves over to the police!" he shouted to Jonah.

Not wanting to give in to the demands of this creature, Jonah released barrels into the water that exploded which threw XLR8 off his footing a little and he had to dive a little once those containers brought trees down, he was a bit winded from all that and had to take a moment to catch his breath but Jonah saw this as an opportunity, he turned the boat around and drove directly at the alien. "I won't have some freak ruin everything I've worked for!"

XLR8 saw him coming closer and before his legs could regain their strength, he had to swim away as fast as he could which was the same as running for him and got on a piece of wood. "Gotta lose their trail somehow." he saw a branch on a nearby tree and as he regained his bearings he zipped pass the water and on top of the tree before the blaster fire could scratch him.

Jonah used a flashlight to find any sign of the alien but as far as he can tell, their little pest control was nowhere in sight, but then he heard an all too familiar noise, he pointed the light to a fin that quickly dived into the lake but he knew what it was. "It's getting too crowded around here, lose the dead weight." they took out Captain Shaw and threw him overboard and sped off.

Lincoln could have sped after them but there was the captain to worry about, so he ha d no choice but to save his life and by the time he got back up to the surface, the boat was already gone. "Next time." XLR8 ran back to the show, carrying Shaw but then the Omnitrix symbol started beeping red. "Oh of course you time out now." he groaned as he kicked it up a notch to get back to shore before he turned back where Clyde was and it was close but he got to the shore just in time before the watch deactivated and he turned back. "Hate it when that happens."

Groaning, Shaw woke up. "Uh...what happened?"

Thankfully, Lincoln gave him an excuse. "Uh...we found you washed ashore mister, you look like you got into a huge accident."

"Aye." Shaw nodded as he stood up. "I owe ye my thanks, but that's all you'll get if you'll excuse me, I need to gather myself and begin the hunt once more." he walked away.

"What happened out there and what was with those eggs?" Clyde had to ask.

"No idea." Lincoln rubbed his chin in thought. "But it must be why the Krakken's been attacking, Jonah must be stealing them from right under nose and well, no one likes an angry mama, especially of the lake monster kind."

"Funny thing about Jonah." Clyde showed him his phone which included info about the FoF. "I did some research while you were trying to stop them and it turns out that the Friends of Fish isn't listed on any website about the environment, you can barely call them friends of any wildlife. Says here that he hunts down and poaches rare animals around the world, then he crates them up and sells them to the highest bidder."

"Crates?" the white haired boy remembered the ones that the Krakken tried to steal during it's first attack. "The Krakken was able to steal one from their boat earlier, I bet one of her eggs must've been inside, I gotta stop them. He said something about going to a cannery, so Clyde you hang back and I'll call if I have backup." he checked the time on his phone and saw there was still about one hour left until curfew, so they'll have to hurry up.

* * *

Fortunately, there was a speedboat nearby and Lincoln took off in it, of course he may have to deal with a very angry captain since he technically owned the boat but one problem at a time, he saw the cannery up ahead and stopped just below it. "Okay, time to kick some friends of fish tail." he activated the watch and decided to use another new alien this time around. As the Omni-wave formed around him, and he could fell barnacles begin to form around his body and grew much taller as his hands sharpened into claws. He was a now a red humanoid alien with a mollusk theme, with a shell-like hood over his head, his stomach had a crab-like design on his stomach, on his shoulders, hands, and legs were barnacles. "Alright alien number eight, let's see what you can do." but before he knew it, the Krakken emerged, destroying the boat and tearing through the dock where she saw those humans that took her precious children away.

And there they were, trapped inside a container with Jonah, who captured them again,right next to it and roared furiously at him but the poacher wasn't threatened in fact he saw this as a good thing. "The bigger the krakken, the bigger the payday!" he went inside an aqua suit as his men fired on the beast, but she knocked them aside and made a grab for the eggs but Jonah got to them first and opened fire. Lincoln saw that this new form could breathe underwater once a visor sprang from the hood and jumped right on the suit.

"You want to mess with the bigger fish, try me on for size!" the new alien grabbed the container of eggs but Jnah tried blasting him only for the red alien to open his palm and a blast of water fired out which made the poacher let go, but the container slipped and broke on the floor, letting the eggs go free. Lincoln tried to get him but more friends of fish open fired, but he formed a water bubble to shield himself. "You goons have to do more than that if you want to get rid of Water Hazard!" he shot small water ammo at them which was strong enough to force them back.

Jonah took his chance to reach for his prize but the Krakken wasn't going to lose her children a second time so she grabbed them first. "My eggs!" Jonah tried to get them back but Water Hazard grabbed onto the suit.

"They're not _your_ eggs!" just as Jonah knocked them out of their mother's grasp, Water Hazard grabbed them and went underwater.

Snarling in anger, Jonah followed suit where tackled Water Hazard, making him let go of the eggs. "Saving babies from the big bad man, how heroic of you but not very smart!" he spat.

"At least I actually help life, all you do is hunt it down to make a quick buck!" Water Hazard shot back as he traded blows with the poacher but the suit's metal arms hit him back, leaving Jonah to grab the eggs and tried going back to the surface but the alien hero wasn't having it. He concentrated and controlled the water around him to create a riptide that began spinning the poacher around and losing the eggs in the process. The Krakken was nearby and swam away to get her children inside to safety but Jonah pursued her, he emitted a sonic disruption that messed with the beast's ears and thus he regained custody of the eggs until Water Hazard grabbed him and force him down to the underwater surface. He began to use his enhanced strength to tear apart the metal arms but he was met with an electric stun that forced him back and Jonah tried to escape. Water Hazard grabbed an abandoned anchor and threw it at him, breaking one arm of the suit off and using the chain to pull him back where the hero grabbed the eggs and made his way back to the Krakken's nest, the beast herself followed after him thinking he was another thief but then she saw him place them safely back to where they were before.

She hovered over her children gently as she was relieved to have them back but Jonah was aiming to reclaim his meal tickets but not wanting that horrid man to steal them one last time, the Krakken bit down on the aqua suit which flooded the inside, forcing him to eject and hold his breath, he took out a knife and tried to stab the beast but it broke upon impact with her thick skin. The Krakken was ready to make him pay for stealing her kids but then Water Hazard stood in her path, she watched him put the man in a headlock and silently promised her that he will face justice for his crimes. Accepting this, she went back to nurse her eggs.

Water Hazard looked to Jonah and with great force, socked him right on the face, knocking him out. He swam topside where he hung the creep on a broken piece of the dock. "If it's not too much trouble, hang around for a while until the lake police find a nice dry cell for you." Watar Hazard dived once he saw police boats nearby.

* * *

News of the FoF's corruption was brought around the town and with little sightings of the Krakken that meant the townspeople can no longer live in fear thanks to the efforts of another alien creature. "Another one bite's the dust." Lincoln spoke as he talked to Clyde on the phone. "With Jonah and his goons behind bars and the Krakken no longer worrying about her kids, I think it's safe to say both human and animal life will be okay."

 _"You know Lincoln, with Water Hazard that makes a total of 8 aliens and you said there were only 10 transformations."_

"That's true." he looked to the watch. "That means only two more guys in this watch, wonder what it could be." he got up from his bed. "I'll call you later Clyde, I think I need some good old fashion levity." as he walked down the stairs he saw his father sitting on the couch and he realized that maybe he was owed a father-son moment. "Hey dad." he called, getting his attention.

"Yeah son?"

"I hear they have a two for one deal at the arcade, I know it's not really your thing but first time for everything."

Seeing his boy offer to spend time with him was enough for Lynn Sr. to accept his offer with a smile. "Eh, I think I can handle learning something new. Let's go son."

Both father and son left the house and made their way to the arcade, happy to delve in their own devices.

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait.**


	4. Hunted

**So this is one I was fairly excited about this one since it's where Lincoln will fully understand the dangers of bearing what's basically the most powerful device in the known universe along with the lengths most beings in said universe are willing to go in order to get the watch either for themselves or for money of all things. A side benefit would be introducing Tetrax Shard, one of my favorite characters in the classic series and this will debut the 9th and 10th alien in Lincoln's arsenal but the question remains on whether it'll be Grey Matter or an alien from the sequel series like I did with Jetray and Water Hazard last chapter? That's all up to how this chapter will go and after this is where start to get more serious my friends.**

 **I also have this question, exactly how many chapters should it take before I bring in the 11th alien? Perhaps maybe after the 13th or less, at least that's how I see things I just don't want to rush too much into this story, it's all kinds of important to me and I don't want to risk messing it all up.**

 **And of course there's my whole problem on putting off other stories for a really long time, that's kind of a personal weakness so I apologize for that. But hopefully I'll grow out of it and then this story can actually become a great thing, at least that's what I'm hoping for but enough about that...**

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 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Vilgax was never one to be known as desperate or to call on others for assistance, he had always relied only on himself and his loyal drones to take care of his dirty work, the mere thought of actually requiring assistance was insulting to someone of his stature, he would rather drift in the cold vast reaches of space than to do so, it's how he got such a stellar reputation in the universe. However, due to the fatal injuries he recently sustained during his attempt to obtain the Omnitrix he was forced to float in a rejuvenation tube until his drones healed all the internal and external damage done to him and thus wasn't fit for any form of combat. If it were up to him, he'd go down to Earth himself and claim the device but considering the condition he was in at the moment, he knew that desperate times called for desperate measures and if simple drones couldn't find the watch then maybe something more sentient could produce more satisfying results.

Bounty Hunters, considered to be the scum of the universe, they're the sort who are willing to take on any form of assignment just as long as they are compensated with monetary credits. He needed the best in the business, ones who have made a name for themselves as some of the most ruthless bounty hunters in the known universe, even if he wasn't paying them for their services, it was hard to say no to Vilgax of all people so it was easy to recruit about three of them. But it takes more than just reputation alone to impress him, he needed to asses their particular skillsets for himself and judge if they are worthy enough to serve him.

Aboard his ship, there were three figures on a floating platform who were about to showcase their skills to their new employer, one was wearing hi-tech purple armor with concealed blasters in her holsters with his face hidden by a dark mask, next to him was some sort of cyborg with a normal top half but the bottom half was akin to a crab along with a pincer on the left hand and was covered on brown and gold armor, the final hunter with a grey suit and a black mask with a green triangle in the middle.

Their employer's voice rang out. "Begin the audition."

First up was the purple armored warrior who flew with his jetpack and landed in the center of drones ready to attack, he took out a blaster pistol that demolished many of them then dodged one shot at him, he returned the favor by using a wrist mounted missile launcher to destroy it. From a hidden compartment in his suit was a grenade which was thrown to them and exploded immediately taking them all out.

Next was the crab-like hunter who jumped down and slammed one with his metal claw, he used his oversized appendage to grab and throw as many as he could along with crushing them and using a sword from behind his back to slice another in half.

To take things further, the warlord decided to pit them up against one of giant robots and thus the masked hunter made his move, he took out an object that extended into a hover board and advanced upon the giant drone that fired a powerful blast at him, completely engulfing him in intense plasma that would incinerate most beings but amazingly, the masked hunter was still alive with barely a scratch on him. He flew further and punched a whole straight through it and landed down on the other side.

With that, their test was complete and a screen showing Vilgax himself who had witnesses their performance. "Impressive, you all clearly live up to your reputations." he turned to the purple hunter. "Six-Six, you descend from a family of bounty hunters who have an infamous streak, you live up to their standards." then there was the crab hunter. "Kraab, you fought and managed to survive the Pyros-Piscciss war even when your body had to go through augmentations to survive the injuries you sustained." last but not least, the masked one. "And my old friend, Tetrax Shard. This is not the first time you've been under my employ and I doubt it'll be the last, it's fortunate to see that you still keep your skills honed. As of right now, you're all hired." he showed them the image of a familiar watch. "This is your objective, retrieve the Omnitrix from the backwater planet called Earth. The one who succeeds collects the reward I promised but if you value your lives, you'll do well to not disappoint me." he warned them. "Now go!"

The three bounty hunters entered the pods that were then released to Earth, ready to find the powerful device and are prepared to eliminate any who dare stand in their way.

* * *

Despite the fact that he could go XLR8 and run out of there, Lincoln knew that even superheroes as young as him needed to go to school which thankfully was beginning to end, which was a good thing considering what he has planned for later he just waited until the big and little hand struck at exactly the right spot. Once the bell finally rung, that led him and the rest of the class to get up from their seats and went to their lockers to collect their stuff, but as he walked he couldn't help but overhear the other kids converse on a very particular subject. Or to be more precise, subjects, those being each of his alien forms that they didn't know were all one person and he was right there listening in.

"So get this, my mom said that some orange dog with no eyes saved her from getting mugged."

"A news copter nearly hit the ground if it weren't for some red manta thing."

"That four armed bodybuilder caught the truck full of robbers before they could leave town."

"Did you see how fast that speedy guy went to catch that speeder?"

He didn't want to sound arrogant, that's Lynn's thing, but hearing all their praises about each of the heroic actions performed by him while in his alien forms felt quite good. Sure, no one knows that behind those strong layers was an 11-year-old but he wasn't aiming to be some world-wide celebrity or anything, he was just do some good around town, though it still ached him that he still has to keep this all a secret, especially from his family, sure there's Clyde but above all else his parents and his sisters maybe even his grandfather had a right to know but there was still a high risk present. That didn't mean he had to like it and speaking of which, he saw his goth younger sister up ahead.

"Greetings, Lincoln." the young poet said to her big brother.

"Hey, Luce." the hidden hero greeted back. "I thought you said you'd stay after for a Mortician's Club meeting."

"Sigh. Unfortunately, we had to cancel due most of them running down with a cold, and our important work can only be accomplished when all members of our society are present." Lucy explained. "Which is a total bummer because we were going on a permissioned trip to the cemetery today."

"Indeed, such a devastating loss."

Lincoln jumped once someone else appeared out of nowhere, similar to his sister, she was a pale dark haired girl with a dress with a bang covering one of her eyes, she was about Lincoln's age and both happened to be quite familiar with each other. "Oh...uh, hey Haiku." Like with Tabby, she too was one of his dates that Lucy set him up with. "I'm sure there'll be other opportunities for you to...observe the fine craftsmanship of both a coffin and a tombstone while also writing poems about the deceased."

"Your words of encouragement are greatly appreciated Lincoln, they have truly moved me." she responded in a monotone voice just like Lucy's, couple with their shared interests, it was no wonder they were both good friends.

"So, uh, I heard from Clyde that you two haven't been hanging out as much as you did after that whole dance thing." he brought up. "Is there a problem."

Haiku simply shrugged. "While we were kindred spirits in having romantic yet unrequited feelings for those who ae much older than us, I'm afraid his level of affection trumps my own which proved to be a little...uncomfortable."

The white haired boy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You saw the shrine to Lori, didn't you?" he deadpanned.

"That boy needs to see his therapist more often, it is quite troubling."

He shook his head as he agreed with her. "You're telling me, and bear in mind, the girl he's crushing on happens to be my sister, that alone is awkward enough." he scratched his hair. "Anyway, me, Lucy and the others are heading home, maybe I'll see you around later, if it's okay with you of course."

Surprisingly, Haiku smiled at the notion. "I'd like that." as the two Loud siblings walked ahead of her she couldn't help but keep a lingering gaze at the white haired boy, and she placed a hand on his chest where she felt a heartbeat a very strong one at that. For some reason she can't fathom, that always happens whenever she's around him. Him and his elegant white hair, along with the deep aura she sees within him, certain qualities of him that...attracts her. "Sigh."

As the two Louds walked, the younger of the two spoke up. "So, any sign of the twins or Lisa?"

"We're right here!" they both turned and saw Lana and Lola along with Lisa who's hair stood up and had a little smoke on her face. "We had to pick up Lisa at the nurse's office after an explosion at her classroom." the little grease monkey explained.

Lincoln looked to his second youngest sister. "Again, Lisa? When are you gonna learn that you can't mix advanced science with a kindergarten class?" he chided the prodigy.

"All due respect elder brother, the current curriculum for students of my age range is not by my standards of education, the activities that our teacher gives are too trivial for my extensive intellect so naturally, I found no outcome where I would actually partake in such tomfoolery such as finger paining. I just feel that incorporating some more advanced fields would be beneficial to the majority of the class." Lisa defended.

"Maybe for other child prodigies Lis, but not everyone here can solve fusion matter overnight." Lincoln pointed out to her.

"And I can't have anyone knowing I'm related to a mad scientist." that comment earned Lola a stern glare from her brother. "What?"

Shaking his head, Lincoln guided his younger sisters to the exit door. "Let's just hurry up and get home already."

"Do you have something planned, Lincoln?" Lucy asked, curious.

"Something like that."

* * *

Soon after arriving at the Loud House, Lincoln texted Clyde to tell him to prepare their secret project at the junkyard, the white haired boy left a note in case some of the others began wondering where he was. In these past few weeks of having the watch, Lincoln realized that having access to all these alien forms would require him to get used to all their abilities, and the best way to do that was to test them out and get a better handle on them. Which was why he requested Clyde to set up a special obstacle course in the junkyard filled with crusty old targets that were lying around, along with a few spring traps as well along with a few other modifications. The bespectacled boy stood at the controls and was prepared to get this show on the road, and hoped his best pal was also ready.

"Okay pal, I got everything prepped, you ready?" he asked to Lincoln who stood in the middle.

Taking a deep breath, Lincoln activated the watch and scrolled through his options and deciding to use the very first alien form that he turned into when he first found the enigmatic device. In a green light, he was now the fire-based alien called Heatblast and he gave the other kid a thumbs up with a confident smirk. "Let her rip, buddy."

Nodding in response, the McBride boy pulled a lever, making a horde of empty soda cans fly out, he sent a stream of fire that decimated them, a trio of targets where then deployed and he sent three concentrated fire balls at all three. More targets spun around in a spinning contraption and Heatblast had to time this just right before sending a single shot but he controlled it so that it could curve and hit all the targets at the same time. Cardboard cutouts of people where also laid out in front of them, and he made sure to hit only the ones that were burglars and not regular civilians. Tire swings came in at the same time and reacting fast, Heatblast shot up into the sky and avoided them hitting him, but he wasn't used to flying as Heatblast and wavered a little, so he landed down.

"Sweet, you hit everything, Lincoln!" Clyde grinned, walking up to his friend. "Though, I'm a little surprised you didn't just fry everything in a second, would've saved you a lot of trouble."

Turning back into human form, Lincoln turned to him. "Maybe, but imagine if this was a real emergency, I may end up hurting not just the bad guys." he pointed out. "And besides, you know thinking with only might isn't my style, that's more Lynn's department, and if I'm gonna be serious about this superhero thing, I need to stay in top shape, not to mention learning how to use each alien's abilities better."

Clyde hummed in thought. "Hmm, I still don't know about that, you seem to getting the hang of it already and you managed to beat a lot of bad guys so far."

Yeah, that's true." Lincoln admitted, but then hold up his left hand. "But this thing on my wrist isn't some new toy, it can turn me into 10 aliens with who know how many abilities and I can't just be irresponsible with it, that would only spell disaster." referring to the watch also got him thinking, in all the excitement of acquiring such a device from outer space, he never considered the purpose of it. Lisa always says that each invention of hers had a reason for being built, same with all the inventions throughout history, so what would be the intention of making a watch-like device that can turn its wearer into a number of alien lifeforms? His musings were cut off as he felt his phone vibrate and answered the call. "Hello? Mom, what is it? Uh-huh...hm...okay, I'll just walk there. Yes, I don't need a ride, I can just walk there. I'm sure, don't worry. Love you too."

"She want anything?"

"Apparently, my Pop-Pop called the house because he wanted me to visit him, guess I should go ahead and meet up with him. See you back at school." he bade farewell and both kids went out of the junkyard. Lincoln activated the watch again and thankfully it still had some energy left in it for a few more transformations before having to recharge and knew that the perfect guy for the job was XLR8. He ran past the street and made his way to the nursing home where his grandfather would always be.

* * *

There were previous times where his favorite grandson visited Sunset Canyon Retirement Home, his most favorable one being the time when they both had some fun in the town, it reminded him that despite being past his prime, the old man still had some energy in him. In a way, having all that fun with the kid reminded Albert of the days of his youth, days that he'll fondly remember, the kind that he wished to just relive, even if it was for a short time. Taking out his Plumbers' Badge, Albert recollected the day he met a Magister and was the first human to be recruited, how he went from unassuming cadet at the academy to being a valued member of the Plumbers. With all this alien activity happening in his town, it came as no surprise for the Plumber in him to suddenly spring to life.

Before he could be finish with his thoughts, Albert could've sworn he saw a green flash nearby, which made his Plumber's badge start to beep. "What the heck was-?"

"Pop-Pop!"

Whatever he was thinking quickly washed away once he saw his grandson up ahead, running along the way. "Hey, there he is!" the old veteran happily hugged his look-alike. "Was wondering when you'd show up, pal."

"Not that I mind it, but why did you want to see me?" Lincoln inquired.

"Follow me and I'll show ya." Albert answered, ushering the boy to follow his lead, they walked away from the nursery home, which really made Lincoln curious, as the head nurse, Sue, wouldn't accept it. Hopefully, his grandfather got permission to move away from the premises, he didn't like the woman, but getting in trouble was the last thing on his mind. It was then that they came across a broken down shed, with the entrance being blocked, Albert picked up a crowbar and pulled it open.

The inside of the shed amazed Lincoln.

"Woah..."

Albert nodded in agreement. "I know, she's a real beauty isn't she?"

What was presented for both of them was a mobile RV that while it looked like it's seen better days, once can't help but appreciate the certain style it had, it had blue pain job with satellites on the roof and trimmed with red lines. "Pop-Pop, what is this?"

"You mean, who is she." Pop-Pop corrected. "And to answer your question, I'd like you to meet an old family friend, say hello to good ol' Steelroller." he caressed the RV tenderly with a nostalgic smile. "See kiddo, back in the old days, I always had a habit of travelling the world, meeting exciting people and through it all, I've had this gal as my home. Don't tell your mom, but I think she's always been jealous." he chuckled, remembering when his daughter threw a hissy fit about him paying too much attention on the RV.

"So, you kept it here all these years?"

"Yeah." he nodded, with a somber sigh. "I couldn't just send her to the scrap heap, she deserves better than that. This is where Rita was born, you know. Recently, I've been itching to taste the open road just for a little while, and I can't help but want to spend that with you, sport." he affectionately ruffled his snow hair. "I smoothed it over your parents, and well, we're going on a little trip!"

Lincoln's eyes lit up, excited at the prospect. "Really? To where?"

"It's nothing far, only one town over, and it'll only take a few hours to get there. So how about it?"

Going on a trip with his favorite grandfather?

Not having to deal with whatever craziness was going on back at the house?

It was clear what his answer was.

"When do we start?"

Albert chuckled to himself, for a minute there, it seemed like he was talking to his younger self, not just in appearance, but in eagerness.

* * *

Back at the junkyard in Royal Woods, the pods containing the three bounty hunters crash landed nearby in the forest and they promptly began the hunt for the object that will bring them good fortune, Vilgax made his orders quite clear, find the Omnitrix, return it to him and all their hard work would be paid off, failure to complete the mission...well, the very thought was unfavorable to all of them. Tertax Shard stood with a device in hand, which could detect the Omnitrix's unique energy signature. "The Omnitrix is on the move, away from the area where it was last activated." he observed and moved ahead of Sixsix and Kraab were nearby.

Six-six snarled in an incoherent tongue to the crustacean-like bounty hunter and flew off with his jetpack.

"You can say that again." Kraab remarked, understanding his fellow hunter's language and agreeing with whatever he said. "A primitive mudball like this is better off being space dust."

Back with Tetrax, he walked with his hoverboard in hand and looked to the makeshift obstacle course, he observed the destroyed targets and soda cans and attempted to pick one up, but then it was snatched by a metal tendril, which belonged to Six-Six, the two hunters fought for it, and opted to have a little stand off. "You got a problem, Sotoraggian?" he placed his hand on his blaster, ready in case of a fight. In fact, he expected this, three hunters after the same thing, the chances of a fight not happening was laughable at best.

He listened as Six-Six growled another series of grunts and gargles that made Tetrax's temper rise up, never taking kindly to those who ran their mouths like that, especially if they were directed at him. "Gttoksaghsgws!"

For Kraab, he was taken back by the fowl language. "Woah now! Big talk from a gearhead, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

His eyes narrowing behind his mask, Tetrax walked up to face the other hunter. "Get in my way again, and I'll teach you how to say 'dismantle' in this planet's language." he promised.

As much as he wanted to put him in his place, Sixsix focused more on the job he was on and after spitting one last insult, he shot up in the sky. "Well, I can tell we'll be sharing some drinks together when all's said and done." Kraab chuckled.

"That goes double for you." Tetrax told him.

"Come on, we're all bounty hunters here." Kraab pointed out, trying to ease some tension. "Sure, we're definitely gonna have our little spats, but we're all after the same thing."

"That's where you're wrong." Tetrax corrected him with a hardened tone and a steel resolve and despite wearing a mask, one could tell the aura of intensity he was radiating. "Don't think for a single second that I'm like you or Sixsix, you two may be doing this for whatever amount of money Vilgax is offering us, but I have my own reasons for taking this job and I won't let scum like you interfere, so watch yourself if you value your life." he warned before going off on his own.

"Oh boy." Kraab shook his head with a sigh. "I swear, this is gonna turn out like that mess in planet Kinet all over again." he then jumped up a little and his legs spun around like a drill and went deep underground.

Tetrax Shard continued to detect the Omnitrix's energy signature as it was moving not too far away from his present location, he had a strong conviction and it demanded that the powerful device be found and made sure that he needed to make sure such a tool wouldn't be used by the likes of _him_ , he can't afford to let more and more planets fall prey to the tyrannical rule of him. Should they refuse his occupation, then it'd just be a repeat of what happened to Petropia…..and he can't ever let that happen again.

"Never again." he silently vowed, unknowingly springing more target traps, prompting him to pull out his blaster pistol and fired at the whole course, blowing it up. He deployed his hoverboard and went off, and thus, the hunt begins.

* * *

After a momentary setback of restarting the old jalopy's engine, the duo of grandson and grandfather began their travel, for Lincoln, this was just like that crazy family vacation he and the others went on, hopefully, they won't lose this RV like they lost Vanzilla in a car carrier and accidentally get into a prison bus, and that wasn't even the weirdest thing that happened. Speaking of that particular incident, the grandson recanted the events to his grandfather about what happened to pass the time and he was having a blast. "So your mom actually managed to fly a rebuilt old plane?" Albert asked, as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Yeah, it was so cool!" Lincoln told his grandfather. "Even with all 13 of us cramped in that plane, she managed to get us back to Vanzilla, I never thought mom would be so good at piloting a plane, and you actually taught her how to do that? I honestly thought she was kidding."

"Well, where else could she have learned to fly other than old army man like me?" Albert pointed out. "Not just piloting, I also taught her how to defend herself if she ever gets into a scuffle. I know what you're thinking, I might've been a little too protective and that may be true. But at the time, I was still a single father, had to do whatever it took to keep my little girl safe. When you have kids of your own, kiddo, you'll understand."

"I'll take your word for it." Lincoln looked outside the window and noticed that he might as well be way past the city limits. "So, where exactly are we going? Is it another town?"

Albert made a fifty-fifty gesture with his hand. "Eh, I guess one could say it used to be a town, a mining to be exact. But about many years back, way before any of you kids were born, the 50s last I checked, it got closed down when the mines ran out. My pops used to bring me and ma here when I was about as small as Lisa for some quiet time."

Soon enough, the RV pulled up on the town and just as Pop-Pop said, the place was completely rundown and abandoned, it was a wonder that people actually lived here once. "Hey, Pop-Pop. Is it cool if I check this place out?" Lincoln asked.

"Kid, ain't no one here saying you shouldn't." Albert chuckled. "Just don't get lost or go out too far. The old gal can only go so much."

Lincoln began his stroll around the barren town, he never knew that a place could look so empty without so much as even animals populating it, it was devoid, silent and most of all, it was creepy. Lucy would probably beg mom and dad if they could move here or make a summer home at the very least, too bad they couldn't pick her up on the way. He stopped and entered inside a garage and surveyed a crate full of old junk. "Wow, this place is old school, not even Lisa could work with anything here."

Then...he felt something.

Underground, it started light but then the tremors began and he nearly lost his footing, he saw something rising up and going to where he was and quickly moved out of the way and looked to see what it was. He had fought alien robots, mutated animals, and a lake monster so it was a given that he be ready for anything, yet the appearance of a metal crab still caught him off guard. Acting on instinct, he activated the Omnitrix and scrolled through until choosing a new icon. He saw as an ooze-like substance with green circuity lines covered his entre form and became bigger in size and then he observed his new form, his exterior was black with the green lines and the torso had inverted colors with the same hourglass symbol and a green circle resembled an eye.

"And that makes eight!" the new alien spoke, the circle glowing then widened, noting how he still had his normal voice. "Woah, I sound normal. That might be a problem."

"I can imagine bigger ones for you." Kraab said, advancing towards him. "As much as I love a good throw down, I'm sort of on the clock so I'll just make this short and simple. Hand over the Omnitrix right now and I won't have to make you suffer...much." the bounty hunter held up his large claw as a warning.

"Omnitrix…?" Lincoln in his new form repeated in confusion.

"Come now. I know the species of this mudball are of the primitive variety, with all your pitiful level 2 tech, but you honestly don't know of the powerful tool you possess?" Kraab asked skeptically. "I swear, I better be paid double for this."

At that, Lincoln put the pieces together and looked to the hourglass symbol with realization, remembering the last time an alien presence came to Earth. "The watch. It's called the Omnitrix?" though this was quite a piece of new info, he opted to deal with it later and take care of his current problem. "Sorry, Crabby, but I'm not gonna just give it up to anyone. Even if I did, the watch and I are kind of attached."

"Not for long." Kraab raised his claw and it blasted beams at him but this new alien's metallic-liquid form made him a slippery target and tried grabbing the claw but then felt a lot of jolts in his system and was pushed back. "Nice try, but I've faced a fair share of Galvanic Mecamorphs in past jobs, you'll have to merge with other technology."

"Merge?" he looked and saw a lever, getting an idea. Once making contact with it, his entire form merged with the outdated technology and activated the car lift which raised Kraab up but the lift morphed laser turrets that blasted Krraab until he was dropped to the ground. The lift grew metal spider legs and blasted at him more before the eye blasted a powerful green blast that blew him far from the garage. Lincoln discarded the lift, allowing it to fall down and the watch timed out.

"Don't think car lifts could do that in the 50s." he breathed in amazement. "That new alien must've given it a heck of an upgrade. Upgrade...man I am good naming these guys so fast." knowing that he shouldn't stay any longer in case the bounty hunter came back, he ran out to get back to his grandfather, ignorant of the other hunter who was observing.

* * *

Speaking of Albert, the grandfather of 11 was leaning back on his fixed up ride, waiting for Lincoln to come back but then noticed his Plumber's Badge was beeping inside his pocket. He looked to see that not too long ago that a Galvanic Mechamorph and a Picciss Premann were detected until the latter had moved a bit and the former just disappeared out of the blue. "Aliens out here?" Albert was never one to believe in coincidences, he's a retired Plumber and just now, there were aliens. Ever since alien activity had been springing up in the Royal Woods area, his gut has been telling him that this was all part of something bigger than just random occurrences, his old pals from the glory days such as Patelliday advised him not to get involved but even so, this was troubling.

Atop a roof was Six-Six, the Omnitrix was detected to be somewhere here and knew that his fellow bounty hunters were also present, which would be a problem for him if one of them managed to acquire it. But then he came across a seemingly defenseless elderly human male, using a built in access to Extranet database, he compared this old one's image to that of a much younger man's and though he has aged, it was him. The legendary Plumber called Albert Thompson.

He was already promised a hefty reward for bringing the Omnitrix to Vilgax, but add in an ex-Plumber and perhaps he may be looking at doubling the initial amount of credits, especially considering the history between his employer and this plumber. Six-Six aimed with a wrist blaster and waited until he got a clear shot to the head, likes to be efficient that way. But what he didn't count on was the old man pulling out a laser pistol and fired before he could react, the laser projectile hit him on his visor. Six-Six hovered down nursing his face, the visor took most of the damage but the pain was present and needed a moment to regain his bearings.

"What do you know? The old thing really did pick up on a Sotoraggian, here I thought it was malfunctioning after all this time." Albert spun his weapon withis fingers and holstered it back. "Good to see the old aim's still sharp, reminds me of the days in the academy."

Snarling, Six-Six growled at him. "Ngrssakataksne!"

"Yeah? Well so is your mother, pal." Albert shot back. Speaking of shooting, Six-Six drew twin laser pistols of his own and fired back but Albert checked his watch and activated an energy shield that protected him. "Would you believe me if I told you these were standard issue back in the day?"

Six-Six's shoulder appendages drew two special weapons which fired pods that sent out an EMP wave that disabled Albert's shield and the metal tendrils fired rapidly that made him go for some cover. "Steelroller. Defense measure-010 Priority-Epsilon." the front of the RV moved down and shot out a glowing net that trapped the bounty hunter. "We still got it, girl."

"Pop-Pop!"

Sixsix turned to see a white haired human child who was running towards them after hearing the commotion and glimpsed on the device on his left wrist and used a plasma saw to cut himself free. "Lincoln, get down!" Albert shouted to his only grandson, his safety the only thing on his mind.

 _'Another one?'_ with the Omnitrix still recharging, Lincoln knew he had no choice but to evade a fight with an alien by retreating inside a house which was bad considering his grandfather was present.

"Kid, no matter what happens, just stay inside!" Albert told the boy."

"But-"

"Trust me!"

With him not being able to go hero, Lincoln considered his options and knew that Albert was right, there was nothing he could do but hide and hated that he couldn't do anything to help his grandfather. Unbeknownst to him, Albert threw a disk-like device that hovered in the air around Six-Six who tried shooting it but it latched onto his jetpack that made it go haywire and was shot up in the air, away from the two. "Lincoln!" Albert ran inside to see his grandson sitting and hugged him protectively. "You okay, kiddo?"

"Uh...yeah, fine. W-What happened to that...monster?" Lincoln feigned ignorance on the matter to lessen suspicion.

"Just went up in the air, guess his tech was faulty." Albert shrugged, also putting up a front of having no idea whatsoever. "And it wasn't a monster. It was an alien." Lincoln stared at him with a curious expression, aback by his granddad's confidence in his assessment, which Albert took note of and mentally slapped his forehead. "Well, you saw him with all those fancy gadgets and suit. What else could he have been?" he pointed out. "I might not be 'getting with the times' but I'm pretty sure that's not what the kids are into these days."

"Good point." Lincoln conceded. _'Would be cool, though.'_

"Tell me, did you see anything else like him?" Albert asked, urgently.

"Uh...I saw this crab thing fighting another one of those alien superheroes from the news."

"Okay, this field trip is over. Get in the RV, we're heading back right now." the old man wasted no time in getting the kid inside, the last thing he wanted to see was one of his grandchildren get caught in the crossfire of competing intergalactic bounty hunters. As they went in, Albert sent an inquisitive gaze towards Lincoln, or rather, the unique wristwear he had. He can imagine one reason for the presence of two hunters on Earth and the only person who could hire them in the first place.

But it couldn't be...could it?

* * *

The ride back to Royal Woods was mostly quiet, neither of them spoke a word when they left the town which was understandable, not everyday that two aliens attacked a grandfather and his grandson out of the blue. Although, ever since finding the watch, Lincoln's been getting used to his regular everyday life becoming more exciting and mostly dangerous. Speaking of, he looked to the watch or rather, the Omnitrix as that crab thing had called it which is obviously its official moniker. Crab dude said that he was hired to procure it by any means necessary, that could also be the reason for that hi-tech guy's presence as well, which left the question on who hired them in the first place.

His first guess was the one who possibly owned the Omnitrix in the first place before crashing down to Earth but why go to such extreme measures in getting it back? Or maybe it wasn't the case and maybe some random alien heard about it and wanted all that power for himself so he went to a crab and a terminator to get it for him.

Whatever the case, it'd be wise to keep a lookout, and wait until the watch finishes recharging.

"Hey, Pop-Pop? Should we call the police maybe? Or someone about this?"

"Not sure bullets can put a guy like that down, and that's assuming they'd even believe us." Albert responded, one of the disadvantages of living on a planet with level 2 tech.

"What about our family?"

Albert immediately shot that suggestion out the window. "Oh no, we are _not_ getting the others mixed into this, you nearly got killed out there, I don't want to see anymore of my kin having to face something like that. Now, when we get back home, tell your mom that we had a slight-WOAH NELLY!" the Steelroller swerved as it made contact with hidden mines that caused small explosions. Lincoln held on tight as the vehicle rocked side to side as more explosions were set off.

But that wasn't their only trouble, a familiar buzz saw sliced through the roof and Six-Six bent the metal apart to look down at them. "Pop-Pop, he's back!" Lincoln shouted, falling back as the hunter reached for him. Albert pressed his feet on the breaks that pushed Six-Six fall forwards to the street and turning back, the bounty hunter was met with Steelroller running over him but then the RV stopped after a popping sound was heard. Both got out and saw that the tires have been popped, leaving them without an escape vehicle.

"In there! Hurry!" Albert grabbed Lincoln by the arm and they ran inside a mine through the tunnels and took a turn to hide. The old man looked out and saw nothing. "Quiet. A little too quiet."

Such silence ended when they heard drilling from underground and Kraab. "Remember me, boy?"

Kraab took chase and the humans ran away through the mines and as they ran, Lincoln fiddled with the Omnitrix to try and get to work but it was still recharging. "Come on!" he whispered with a hiss. "Let me go Heatblast and turn him into a seafood special!" Unfortunately, he was left with no transformations and eventually, he and Albert reached an edge of a deep center with the other side too far for them to reach on foot.

Desperate, Albert looked for any means of escape and spotted a lift with a cable. "Over there!" Lincoln got on first while Albert pulled the lever just as Kraab caught up with them and jumped on as the lift went across.

"Here I was hoping for some decent prey." Kraab attempted to snap the line but was blasted by Six-Six who flew across with his jetpack and fired rapidly at the lift.

"These yahoos don't know when to quit!" Albert snarled.

Lincoln checked and saw that the Omnitrix finally reactivated, but his grandfather was here but so were the aliens trying to hurt both of them, so it's either keep his secret or do what it takes to save his family. "Pop-Pop." he addressed, scrolling. "Please don't tell the others."

"What are you-"

Next thing Albert knew, he only saw a flash of green before opening his eyes to see that right there, in the place of his lookalike, was Diamondhead, the Petropian from the news. "Lincoln...?" Albert whispered. _"Sweet Galvan Prime. It's true."_

Diamondhead jumped out of the lift and grabbed Six-Six, the added weight caused them to take a nose-dive deep below before the bounty hunter rose up with the Petropian still clinging on. Both collided into a mountain wall before falling to the floor with the tram carrying Albert disappearing into the tunnel nearby. "Lincoln, wait!"

"Just go, Pop-Pop, I'll catch up!" Diamondhead stood as both Six-Six and Kraab cornered him. Kraab fired with his left pincer but Diamond morphed both arms into a shield. He pounded his fist into the ground and diamond pillars sprouted up and struck at the hunter from all angles, Kraab went underground once more and snuck up behind his prey, grabbing him by the waist and flung him across. Six-Six flew over and was met with a barrage of shards, one striking at his helmet resulting in a crash landing. As much as he was putting up a good fight, Diamondhead knew that he couldn't possibly take them both on, their array of tactics and weaponry made them formidable, but were also seeking the same thing.

That often leads to competition.

"Gotta wonder how much of a hefty reward there is for the watch." Diamondhead spoke up.

"Enough for one of us to buy himself a condo on the beaches of Tropixa." Kraab answered.

"One of you?" Diamondhead chuckled. "Guess that means only one of you will be getting the goods when this is all over, only question which one will it be?" he asked, setting his plan into motion.

Six-Six raised a blaster only for Kraab to grab his wrist. "Back off! I'm the one who's bagging the pay!" he declared.

"Chrtleasss!" Six-Six growled.

"Well, you didn't have to make it personal! Your brother and sister would have more decency!"

It was the classic move, turn them against each other so that they wouldn't notice Diamondhead trapping them inside a diamond pyramid prison from the ground and out of commission. "Got ya!" Diamondhead smirked and then saw an orb thrown to all three of them which released smoke that made them go unconscious. The perpetrator was Tetrax, having been patiently waiting until now to make his move, with those two peons out of the way, he was free to fly ahead on his board and grabbed Diamondhead by a spike on his back.

* * *

"Come on! Pick up, already!" after reaching the end of the tunnel, Albert tried contacting assistance with his badge but the connection was damaged, the badge had been caught in the EMP wave and was on the fritz, that and it was low on power. "'Always charge your badge before an assignment'. Galil would love this."

It was still all so crazy. Albert thought he had left the old life with the Plumbers behind all those years ago when he decided to finally settle down after years of service. And it was a lengthy retirement, he got to raise his only daughter, walked her down the aisle, watch with pride as he gained amazing grandkids that he loves unconditionally. But then the random alien sightings that's been going on in his town coupled with the energy signature that he's been picking up and now he just saw his own grandson transform into a Petrosapien. There was no denying it anymore, Lincoln was the one who found the Omnitrix and has been getting mixed up with all this nonsense ever since.

"Rita will never get over this." he muttered with dread if or when she catches wind of the truth. Albert was thankful to see his watch had worn off the EMP effects and pressed a code phrase: VERDONA. Up above, a pod from the RV landed down and inside was a blaster rifle, a keepsake he had from his trainer back inboot camp.

Switching it to sniper function, Albert took his position and waited until the two bounty hunters arrived, having broken free and awakened from their imprisonment. Pulling the trigger, he fired two shots at both, prompting Six-Six to rise in the air and attack from above, he ran as he traded shots with the hunter, going for the rapid fire function. Rolling on the ground, he threw a disk at the ground at the precise moment Kraab emerged from the ground and was blown back.

"For an elder, he's pretty crafty." Kraab glowered.

Six-Six landed down and pulled out a blade and Albert shielded with his gun and struggled until Six-Six was facing his watch and smoke emerged that messed with his sensors. For him, it was a good thing he got thermal vision installed at Eight-Eight's advisement, he fired a tripwire that wrapped Albert in blue gelatinous coil. Kraab used his pincer to trap Albert and crush his weapon. "Jeskrioshgs."

"Agreed." Kraab nodded. "If the boy won't comply with our demands, then we might as well give him some incentive."

* * *

Tetrax had been carrying Diamondhead all the way out of the mines once he was sure that they had lost both Six-Six and Kraab and wouldn't have a trail to follow. The reason why he hadn't acted until now was simple, he wanted to see how the bearer of the Omnitrix would fair against two professional bounty hunters that were pulling out all the stops in obtaining their prize. For the most part, the boy had put up a decent offense while also utilizing defense as well, making use of both was no easy task and his recent plan was quite clever for a human but he still had much to learn. This entire ordeal has so far been a taste of the ensuing nightmare.

Diamondhead stirred awake and saw the position he was in, he morphed his hand into a blade swiped at to him, was a new foe causing Tetrax and him landing roughly. "Billions of lifeforms on this planet, and the Omnitrix gets into the hands of a youth. Despite that, it was quite ingenious of you to pit Six-Six and Kraab against each other."

"Well it was two-on-one and they aren't exactly working together, just trying to get the same thing. Speaking from experience, that's an easy way for competition. Plus, I make it a habit to always have a plan." Diamondhead took a battle stance. "I take it's your turn? Let me just warn you in advance, the watch doesn't come off easy. Trust me, I've tried."

"Of course it doesn't." Tetrax stated as if it were obvious, turning to explain. "The Omnitrix's power utilizes alien DNA collected from numerous genetic samples which binds to the wearer's own genetic structure, it cannot simply be removed like a bandage."

"If you're such an expert, then why not explain why was it sent to Earth in the first place? Better yet, what's so important about it that robots and creeps keep making a grab for it?"

"The fact that it exists makes it a valuable prize to be used, it's the kind of prize that requires you to make certain that you don't lose your life or it to those who come to collect it." he spoke with utmost urgency and seriousness. "The Omnitrix is the most powerful weapon in this known galaxy, the key that tips the balance in the favor of many opposing forces."

Diamondhead narrows his eyes. "And who's side are you on?"

"Notice how you're not dead right now." Tetrax pointed out.

Blinking, Diamondhead still kept his guard up in case this was a fake out. "Wait. You're a good guy?" he questioned in surprise.

"I've made it my mission to retrieve the Omnitrix at all costs before it falls into the hands of the most insidious force, the likes of which your world has never seen." Tetrax answered ominously. "But since it's stuck on your person, I'll have to collect you as well for its removal."

"Okay, take a step back for a second there." Diamondhead waved his hand. "I get you got good intentions but can't say I'm fond of being abducted, you have any idea how much my parents and sisters would freak?!"

Tetrax walked up until he was at eye-contact. "I wasn't asking for permission."

"Then try again!" Diamondhead swiped with arm blades that Tetrax managed to block, so the kid turned hero tackled him to the ground and formed diamonds on his suit to trap him, but Tetrax broke free and knocked him back.

"You've gotten the basic handling of that alien form and yet, you still know little of its strength and weaknesses. In the time that you've had the Omnitrix, you've barely scratched the surface of the potential." Tetrax mentally shook his head.

"Hey, I don't exactly see an instruction manual, so what makes you such a know-it-all?" Diamondhead shot back.

"Years of practice." the helmet that hid Tetrax's features retracted and Diamondhead felt like he was looking at a mirror, for the third hunter had an uncanny resemblance to his current form.

After silently standing like a statue, he snapped out of his stupor. "You're...a Diamondhead?"

"Petrosapien, actually." the newly revealed alien corrected. "My name is Tetrax Shard and we've wasted enough time."

The familiar sound of the Omnitrix timing out left Lincoln with little time to process or be prepared for Tetrax lifting him up by the back of his polo shirt. "Hey put me down!"

Tetrax looked around for his board that had been dropped only to see it missing but the good news was that it was found with the bad news being that it was being held by Kraab. "Looking for this, Shard? Had a feeling you had an ulterior motive for taking this job and you're fool if you think you'll be getting off this planet with the Omnitrix and just to be sure." he turned and Lincoln gasped once he saw Six-Six holding Albert hostage.

"Get your mitts off me!"

"See, ole Six-Six and I took a moment to think and we realized that fighting amongst ourselves only succeeds in aiding you so we decided to split the pay 50/50 after we're done splitting you!"

"A villain team-up. Should've seen that coming." Lincoln sweated nervously. Kraab shot at them and Tetrax shielded Lincoln from the assault and ran while multiple blasts nearly hits them until crashing into a building.

"Ngtsoshta Iggsoashhr!" Six-Six admonished.

"Don't blow a gasket, metal mouth! I know we need the thing intact, just making sure I don't miss Shard."

Inside, Lincoln got up and moved to go out but Tetrax held an arm up to hold him back. "What're you doing?! I have to go save him!"

"Don't be a fool. The safety of the Omnitrix is the only true priority, child."

Lincoln glared at Tetrax for expecting him to just sit by while Albert was in peril. "Not to me. He's my family, if you're really one of the good guys, you'd understand that and my name is Lincoln Loud."

Actually in a way, Tetrax did but not when it mattered and he had to suffer for it. "I'm...sorry, but you can't save him while the Omnitrix is in recharge mode. Our only option is for me to get my hoverboard so we could leave this planet."

"So that's it?! We're just gonna run turn tail and run?!" Lincoln looked at him for disbelief. "Is that all you're good for?!

Subconsciously, Tetrax's fist clenched. "In this instance, we have no other choice!" not wanting to argue with him any further, Tetrax leapt into action jumping out of the smoke and shooting crystal shards at Six-Six, making him release Albert from his hold. He jumped forward and narrowly dodged Kraab's pincer and successfully grabbed his board. The Petrosapien warrior hovered across the air, dodging lasers before jumping down, Kraab and Albert moved out of the way but Six-Six wasn't so lucky as his enemy landed on him, creating a small crater. Tetrax lifted him up and punched him to the ground where the hi-tech alien shot a missile at him but shielded himself. Kraab landed behind him and thrusted his pincer claw but Tetrax was quick to grab it and flung him over with much ease.

"Woah." Lincoln whispered with awe, impressed by the other Diamondhead's skill. He checked his wrist and was elated to see that the watch was back up and running. "Alright, hero time!" Kraab had heard him and looked up to see his prey being right there, the job ending quick. Lincoln rushed to hide as Kraab got up and opted to claim the prey himself while Six-Six was busy with Tetrax. Hiding, he looked through his options and considered which to choose, brute force won't do much, these guys have proven to be pros at counteroffensive. So perhaps this new 10th alien can handle things on the mental side of things. As the Omniwave enveloped him, he could feel his cranium getting larger along with his brain and a surge of electricity.

Kraab entered with murderous intent, he didn't have to bring the bearer back alive only the Omnitrix intact, which was okay in his book, he just loves technicalities. "When I took this gig, I expected a challenge, why not turn into a Tetramand and make this more of a party?"

"Sincerest apologies, fellow crustacean, but I'm afraid such trivialities are not acceptable." Kraab turned to see where the sophisticated voice was coming from, but only found himself being hit with a surge of electricity that lifted him up due to his metal body and hit deep into the floor. The attacker was a light orange crab-like alien with pincers for arms and six legs to walk on with the symbol on a neck brace.

"A Cerebrocrustacean?"

"Quite fitting I must say, you have been terrorizing my being along with my progenitor so why not return the favor? Also, due to my enhanced cerebral capacity and my apparent electrokinesis, I believe the appropriate designation for this new extraterrestrial is...Brainstorm!" his head opened up to reveal his massive brain that surged with green electricity. Kraab fire at him, but Brainstorm put up an electric shield, making him appear unscathed. "Due to your cybernetic physical being comprised of advanced metal alloy, a decent percentage of volts should do the trick." Kraab tried going underground but Brainstrom reached down and made him come right back up. "The very ground we walk on is comprised of metal, and as you know, it is a good conductor."

Brainstorm kept him in an electromagnetic hold as he tried searching for a way to incapacitate him. "Now, let's take care of that nerve cluster, shall we?" once doing so, Kraab walked off, his body shorting out with the head spinning about and eventually dropping to the floor.

Six-Six and Tetrax were still going at it, but the more ruthless bounty hunter ended it when he grabbed the warrior and flew up before diving down using him as a cushion. The masked hunter glimpsed at Brainstorm and deployed missile launchers to attack until Albert grabbed him from behind to act as a distraction. "Lincoln, run!" he shouted to his transformed progeny as Six-Six grabbed and pinned him to the ground, brandishing a buzz saw.

"Unhand him!" Brainstorm shot an electrical blast that shot him away then took control of his armor.

"I thought I told you to stay out of the way!" Tetrax sternly chastised.

"Oh, I recall, this me putting a rebellious front in response. By committing this action, I hypothesize a problem would arise for you when I do this!" Brainstorm completely made Six-Six's armor go haywire with his jetpack flying him across the sky with no control at all, evident by crashing into a water tower's support beams. He skidded against the ground until stopping at Kraab's downed form and they could hear the sound of the tower falling down with the trunk descending on two hunters.

"I hate this planet." Kraab groaned as the trunk fell on top of them, dousing them in water.

"That should leave them quite hydrated if I do say so myself." Brainstorm smirked.

"Not bad. For a human." Tetrax kept a stoic look but inside, he was truly impressed, there was more to this child than meets the eye and perhaps he was too hasty in his actions. Taking out a hand-held device with a cube, it was shot at the two hunters and expanded until it trapped them both inside and shrunk back down before disappearing in a flash of light then he spoke in a communicator. "Gluto, they should be on the ship's transport pad, you know what to do."

Lincoln turned back to normal once the watch ran its course then went to Albert. "Pop-Pop, are you okay?"

"Fine, kiddo. I'm confused, but I'm fine." he crossed his arms. "Mind explaining to me what in Sam Hill is going on?"

Knowing that he couldn't keep the cat in the bag any longer, Lincoln came clean and told his grandpa about everything, he recanted how he found the Omnitrix in the first place, him using his available alien forms to perform heroic acts, and the incredible adventures that he's been having ever since. Not to mention keeping it all a secret. "So yeah, all those aliens that have been appearing over Royal Woods, they're all me."

Albert nodded as he listened to the story. "And no one else knows."

"Other than my friend, Clyde and now you, no."

"Not even our family?"

Lincoln flinched but nodded. "Are you...mad?"

"Dang right I'm mad." the kid hung his head but then Albert elaborated. "Mad that I had no idea that you took after your grandpa. Fighting the good fight, saving as many people as you can and most of all, kicking anyone who hurts you or our family." Albert knelt down and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "This whole alien thing might be new to me, but you're my grandson, I couldn't be more prouder. Now, I'm no fan of lying to our kin, but I learned from personal experience that sometimes keeping secrets even from people that we love is the only way to protect them."

Smiling, Lincoln happily hugged him who returned it. "Thanks, Pop-Pop." he let go and turned to Tetrax and asked. "So, what about the Omnitrix?"

"I was intent in moving it off-planet." Tetrax's tone became a lot warmer. "But I can see it's in good hands, but you still have a long way to go, Lincoln. Perhaps with some training and mentoring, there's hope for you yet."

"You're staying?"

"Those bounty hunters won't be the last threat thrown at you. More drones and more criminals will be coming to this planet for the sole purpose of getting the Omnitrix and it will benefit you greatly to not only pick up new tricks but also better understand your alien forms and assistance when the time comes. That is, if you'll have me."

Lincoln held his hand up. "You were just trying to make sure those guys didn't get the watch, I could use some more help." Tetrax shook the kid's hand as a new partnership was born.

"You should also have this." Tetrax handed him the hoverboard. "In case the Omnitrix is unavailable, this would be a useful tool."

'Seriously?!" Lincoln grinned with excitement. "Sweet! Ronnie Anne would freak over this! Wait, but what if you need this to get off the planet?"

"Selective disinformation."

"You lied? Clever." Albert smirked. He'll have to report all this with the higher-ups but for now, he'll just have to settle with playing the part of the normal old timer who will get used to the new alien elements he's encountered. He considered telling Lincoln his own secret but he meant what he said before, some secrets protect people that he loves even when he hates it.

* * *

During the hunt, Vilgax had a drone follow the hunters and report their actions through his warship and was quite dissatisfied with not only the failure in the Omnitrix finally falling into his possession but the recent deceit by one of the hunters. "Betrayed!" he hissed hatefully from his recovery tank, if it weren't for his weakened state, he'd go down to that pitiful world and make Tetrax pay for his transgression. Alas, he was still confined to his current predicament and there was no telling when he would finally recover.

"Sensors indicate that the Omnitrix is not with any of the mercenaries." his underling drone reported.

"It would appear the vermin creature who currently wields the Omnitrix is as clever as he is fierce. But I shall not be denied of what I seek, they can put up a resistance if they dare, it will make my inevitable victory all the more monumental."

One way or another, Vilgax will make it so that the Omnitrix will be under his control and only then will the whole galaxy know of his might and accept him as their lord and master.


End file.
